


Shadows in Silver

by tnnyoh



Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Genre: Adventure, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, Developing Relationship, Drama, F/M, Gen, Heartbreaking, Low Chaos Emily Kaldwin, Multi, Mystery, Occult, Post-Canon, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sad Ending, The Void, emsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2018-11-02 19:57:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 69,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10951650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tnnyoh/pseuds/tnnyoh
Summary: Morley's trading crisis is the least of Emily Kaldwin's problems when a mysterious letter arrives telling of disappearances within Morley.   Meeting with a Prince to smooth over political unease, Emily is thrown into a whirlwind adventure of mystery and more as an assassin sent to kill her drives her from the tower on a hunt for answers.But when she finds the answers, it's bigger than she could have ever expected, and it may just change the world forever.





	1. These Delicate and Dark Obsessions

1853: 10th day, Month of Rain  
Dunwall Tower

  
_"Let not the eyes linger upon pretty things. Better to pluck them out than to rest them long on temptations."_   
_Sayings of the Overseers, 114_

 

Emily stepped down from the dais and bowed to the gathering, a nobleman who arrived from Tyvia to discuss current trading disputes "Thank you, your majesty" He said, returning the bow. Emily sat back against the throne, almost unnervingly composed given the situation. She had been away from the throne for a year after the Coup at the hands of the former Duke of Serkonos and her not so loving aunt Delilah, But it was days like this that made her miss the smell of chaos.  
Of course, Emily's time away from the throne did not lend itself to relaxation, she had spent the previous year on a whirlwind adventure that nearly got her and her father both killed, but by sheer luck, they had managed to get out alive and more or less in one piece. Well, sheer luck and magical powers, gifted to the two of them by The Outsider.  
"Is there anything further to discuss?" She proposed to the crowd, a young woman approached, she gave a curtsy and spoke in a high voice that reminded Emily of a mouse "We have problems in Morley" She said, her high-pitched voice filled with concern "There are no other countries who wish to trade with us anymore after these events started, We are very concerned that Dunwall may be the next one to sever ties with us"   
Emily put her hand up to stop the woman from continuing "With all due respect, We have no intentions of cutting off our trading with Morley."   
"But what of the problems we are having? is no one going to do anything about them?" She urged  
Emily breathed out hard, trying not to outwardly show any impatience "We really cannot afford to spare anyone to send to Morley unless it is a dire situation, is it a dire situation?" She asked the woman, who had begun twiddling her thumbs nervously "Well," She bit her lip "No, but."   
Emily put her finger up to interrupt "Then it is settled, We are not sending anyone to Morley"   
The woman looked at her feet "Thank you for your time, your Majesty" She said, bowing a little stiffer this time before heading out the door.  
Emily rose from the throne as her father came through the door "You may all leave, your audience with The Empress has ended" She ordered the royal advisors and guards lining the halls to assist everyone out of the tower in an orderly manner "I must confer with my Royal Protector" She said to her right-hand aide Astrid Thornhill, who had come to Dunwall from the capital city of Tyvia, She had come with a dream to learn the ways of Gristol's politics, as they differed very greatly from that of Tyvia's, Emily had met her during one of her many dinners where she was forced to shake the hands of dignitaries and nobles from across The Isles, she had taken a liking to the young girl's spirit and thirst for knowledge.   
Everyone filed out of the throne room quietly as Corvo walked up to his daughter, he waited until the doors were closed to give her a hug "Emily" He said, a nod and a smile, Everyone in the Empire knew that Corvo, Lord Protector was Emily's father - But they still liked to keep up professional appearances while in public.   
"Father," She said, returning his gestures "How was your trip?" Her father had been on a trip to Karnaca to assist Liam Byrne in cleaning up whatever remained of the mess from last years events at the hands of a dangerous group of cultists who had found Zhukov's knife. Corvo shrugged "So-so," he said "Weather was nice"   
Emily laughed "How is High Overseer Byrne?"   
"He's fine, nearly year later and I can't believe there's still remnants of what happened out there" Emily nodded "I suppose it's not so hard to believe, in some parts of Dunwall we are still cleaning up after Delilah's mess" Her father winced at the mention of Delilah, There were pains that would never heal from what had happened in the last couple of years, Emily and her father understood that more than most.   
She stepped down completely from the dais "My duties are done for the day" She said, rubbing her hand absentmindedly against her shoulder "I have some papers to look over, mostly trading disputes" She shook her head and sighed, Corvo smirked "Yeah I wasn't a big fan of those when I was interim for you"   
She smiled at her father "Thank you for doing that for me, by the way. I know I've said it before, but I really did need to step away from all of this last year"   
"Lot of good it did for relaxation though" He chuckled "monsters and tears in the world"   
"Seems to be a regular day for us" She smiled "I shall retire to my chambers, If you require anything, Please call for me."   
"Alright Emily, You get some rest" He gently patted her on the back.  
Emily would not, however, be able to get rest, She had been having fitful sleep since the events in Karnaca last year, and maybe her mind was still reeling from Delilah, maybe a part of her was still broken over her mother's death, She had the marks of so much despair on her mind and sometimes the events twisted together, Many of the dreams were horrific nightmares, however, for her the worst ones were the ones of The Outsider, not horrific in nature, but would still make her jolt out of sleep in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. Unfortunately for her, these dreams were much more frequent lately than the nightmares of monsters. Emily's night was fitful, as she expected. Nightmare flashes of the past came to her mind, the dream twisted and turned through events and memories until she finally saw his face.  
She embraced the dream, touched it, the world spinning with desire as she reached out to him, and as always the dream went her way, two bodies intertwined with passion, his ice cold hands brushing over every inch of her warm body, she threw her head back, closing her eyes and falling into the moment.  
Just as she started to revel in her dreams, she awoke, heart racing and sweat dripping down her face.  
She sat up in bed, her face flushed, struggling to catch her breath she pushed the covers away from her "Five nights in a row" she whispered to herself "When will these void forsaken dreams end?" She crossed to the dresser to brush her hair and sighed, she had not seen The Outsider since the previous year when he had decided to break the mortal construct he had made to help Emily and her Father, the last words he said to her repeated in her mind.  
"This decision is not an easy one for me" He had said "I am casting aside a life that I could have had" She had been completely shaken by his change of mind and heart, days prior to that final interaction he had been so sure that he would live in the mortal construct for all the time it had left, which by his calculations was only a couple of days as the magic was too powerful to maintain.  
"This is goodbye, Empress Emily Kaldwin" He had said, There were many times in the past year that she was certain he would visit her, she almost expected it, but it never happened and she couldn't help but find herself a little bit disappointed.  
She sighed again, running a brush through her dark hair as a warm breeze filtered into her room.  
It was nearing the end of The Month of Rain and the air was starting to warm up. Dunwall was well known for its absolutely sweltering heat waves, and they always started at the end of The Month of Rain. Emily wasn't looking forward to the day's activities, she had several meetings set up with dignitaries from around the isles to discuss what they believed to be a trade crisis.   
She had been dealing with the trading negotiations for months now, but she didn't believe it had reached a critical level yet, merely just an annoyance, and found that Tyvia was the one holding up the negotiations, they don't seem to wish to settle to her terms until Emily comes to agree with their own ideas, ideas that would disrupt the workers of Dunwall, resulting in less pay, less work being done and more difficulties for the lower class.   
She set the comb down on the table and crossed back to the bed, sitting down and closing her eyes, He would have appeared to her at times like this, but where was he now? Emily shook herself to stop it, she thought, stop thinking about him, live in this world she scolded herself.

   

Emily spent the entire day meeting with the dignitaries who all came spouting the same worries, While Emily's eyes had been opened towards her lack of caring towards the throne prior to Delilah's coup, she still had no idea how her mother could make it through the exhausting meetings over things like this while being forced to ignore the real problems.

Emily had been advised not to sign papers that would allow Dunwall to rebuild the old orphanage that was destroyed before The Rat Plague. She had to listen to many of her advisers shoot this idea down in private discussions. Despite this, she brought it to public attention, where not one member openly spoke in support of it, and since she didn't wish to rule with an iron thumb, she had dropped it entirely.   
As she made her way back to her room, she saw a stack of papers on her desk, from her advisor, She skimmed through them and saw that the building in question was going to be turned into yet another retreat for the local nobility, she rolled her eyes so they can't make an orphanage but they can do this?  
She threw the papers down, she would fight this, She just needed to take a break for a moment. Taking a deep breath in, she wondered just how many people thought her job as Empress was an easy one.   
Even she, when younger thought it was easy, she didn't see the trials, the stress, the constant needs of the public that she would have loved to say yes to but because of her position, had to say no. Emily pulled her hair out of its tight upwards bun and shook it free, it was very long now, past her shoulders, and after a long day of having it up, it curled at the edges, she threw herself back onto the bed and pressed her hands against her temples.  
Tomorrow would be a new day, she thought, and she would figure out how to fight against the construction of yet another snooty clubhouse.   
She felt herself drifting off, her eyelids like heavy bags of grain.   
She was dreaming again, lost in a world that was not her own and she soaked up the lack of colors like it were the blood that coursed through her veins, she felt alive, she felt new, energized, alive. An endless haziness and a bluish grey hue, She wasn't dreaming, she was in The Void.   
Emily glanced around and saw the darkness that she had become accustomed to with her visits here but she also saw something different, a small house, not unlike one seen in old villages was sitting in front of her atop the dark and ageless obsidian roads that connected to the different floating islands.  
She heard laughing inside the house and just as she started to approach, a child came out, a little girl who couldn't have been more than six. She smiled upon seeing Emily "I thought that I was the only one who saw this place"   
Emily came closer to the little girl and crouched down "Hi" she said, "Can you tell me your name?"   
"My name is Ingrid, What is your name?"  
"My name is Emily" The girl's eyes widened "Emily Kaldwin?" She said, "You're The Empress!"  
Emily smiled and nodded  
"Do you come here often?" Ingrid asked  
"Not so much anymore," Emily said, straightening up and brushing a strange black residue off of her clothes. "Have you ever met him?" Ingrid said, her face flushing   
"Who?"   
"Well he doesn't have a name," Ingrid said, still blushing "But I've seen paintings of him before...when I'm awake"   
"The Outsider," Emily said  
"Yes," She said, giggling, "I think he's kind of cute" Ingrid hid her face with her hands "Don't tell anyone, especially not my father"   
Emily smirked, "Who is your father?"   
The little girl blushed even harder "He's an Overseer of The Abbey"   
Emily placed a hand on the child's shoulder and smiled "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me, I have secrets from The Abbey as well"   
Ingrid's eyes widened "Are you one of them?" She asked  
"One of who?" Emily asked the child   
"Well, there are stories about The Outsider, they say he marks people, It gives them powers... My father says that he does this for bad, But you don't seem bad"  
Emily smiled at this "Those stories are true," She said  
"Even about The Outsider? is he a bad man or is my father lying? is my father a bad man?"  
"There are... many versions of the same story," Emily said carefully choosing her words "Your father is not a bad man for merely believing his own version"   
The little girl frowned and stomped her foot "Why does The Abbey hate this place?" She asked "I like it here, it's so... different from everything I had known before. It's the only thing that comforted me after my mommy died"   
Emily felt an ache in her heart for this child "I used to see this place a lot when I was a child too after my mother was killed"   
"Is that when you got that tattoo?" She asked, grabbing at Emily's marked hand, Emily shook her head "No, I.. I got that much later"   
"What is he like?" The child asked  
"The Outsider?"  
"Yeah"   
"He's... not as scary as the stories make him out to be, he can be rather gentle" Emily felt a smile creeping onto her lips  
"My father says he's a monster"  
"In my experience, there's can be a monster in all of us, but that doesn't make us bad"   
The little girl smiled "So I can still think he's cute?" She asked  
Emily stifled a laugh and nodded behind her hand.   
The girl smiled wide and then looked back at her house "I have to go," Ingrid said, "It was really nice meeting you Empress Majesty!" and without waiting for a response she traipsed back into the tiny little house and it disappeared from Emily's vision entirely, She shook her head and finally the laughter she had been suppressing came out. Emily spent more time in The Void, it had been a long time since she had seen this place, not in a dream, it was very easy for her to tell the difference between her dreams and actually being in The Void, She felt the cold against her skin and the overwhelming aroma of copper filled her nostrils. She took a deep breath, sometimes The Void felt more like home than the world she lived in, It should have scared her, but it didn't.   
She awoke later that evening, sweat dripping down her neck, her room heavy with the warmth from outside. There was a note beside her on the bed, she picked it up and studied it "The Trade Disputes are more trouble than you think they are" She turned the parchment over and found nothing, she didn't even recognize the handwriting, putting it on her nightstand, she rose from the bed to pull open her curtains and look out at the nearly completely dark sky of Dunwall City, her home.   
She sighed, Oh what she wouldn't give for some relief from this rising heat, She crossed to the other side of the room near her dresser and opened the doors to the balcony, It's nights like this where she longed for The Outsider's cold touch against her skin.  
She grabbed the railing of the balcony tightly and shook the thought out of her head Stop it, she thought, She took a deep breath of the warm and stale night air.   
Emily decided to turn back inside and head to bed for the night, she had no other obligations to attend to and the warm weather was exhausting her. She fell to the bed without the covers on and went right to sleep.

Emily slept fitfully through the night, dreams plagued with scenes from the last year played through her mind, and then yet another dream of The Outsider, this one remarkably vivid as she felt herself pressing her lips against his and felt his icy hands hungrily caressing down her body, pausing at her hips. Emily pulled him closer to her by his jacket and started to kiss his neck, grazing her teeth against his skin lightly, she moaned and shuddered with pleasure as her lips were pressed to his neck.  
She sat up in bed, her face several shades of red and her hair damp with sweat. There was a knock on her door and she groggily ran her hand through her damp hair "Your majesty?" Astrid's voice said from behind the doors "There is someone here to see you from Morley about the trades dispute, Their message was that they were concerned what effect it will have on trading with them" Emily sighed "Send the Lord Protector to speak with them, I will be down in just a moment" She said, pushing the blankets off of her, "Thank you, your majesty" Emily heard Astrid's footsteps trail away from her door.  
She pushed herself up from the bed and crossed to her wardrobe, It was customary for the Empress to have many aides that helped her during her morning routines, but Emily had rarely enjoyed those formalities when she was younger, even less so as an adult and finally, she had put a stop to it, She wasn't incapable of dressing or bathing herself, and it was honestly the only alone time she had in the tower during the daylight hours.   
She brushed through her hair and then placed it in a tight and elegant bun.  
"Empress Kaldwin" A voice echoed throughout her bedroom, she twisted around in her chair and saw him sitting on the window sill, casually looking out to the Dunwall skyline  
Emily dropped her comb and bent down, pushing the chair away to pick the comb up, she hit her head on the dresser as she rose and cleared her throat. "I did not think I would be granting an early audience today," She said, biting back her anger, anger that she had been harboring for the past year "Please excuse my lack of togetherness" she twirled her hand around as if to indicate her hair and her outfit.  
The Outsider slid off the windowsill and began to pace around the bed "Your illustriousness, I have come here with a message"   
Emily tried to stay composed, though her heart was beating in her throat and she felt sweat starting to form at the back of her neck, she wanted to yell at him for the way he had departed the last time they saw each other, It had been in this very room and it ended with her crying through the night sitting on the edge of her bed "What is the message?" She said through thin angry lips.   
"It comes in the form of a question"   
Emily rolled her eyes "Are you serious, a riddle?" She said with a scoff.  
The Outsider gave her a look of reproach "Why, your majesty, it is most disturbing to see you dispensing of your pleasantries in such a swift fashion"   
Emily crossed to her wardrobe and pulled out her long coat "Get to the point" She said, not bothering to contain her annoyance with The God any further.   
"It is curious that you are not paying attention to The Abbey, Especially after learning how much they conceal from the public"  
"The Abbey is generally harmless," Emily said, crossing into the restroom that connected to her chambers "All they ever do is sermonize about how much they dislike heretics"  
She came out with a small bottle of perfume in her hand that she sprayed onto her finger and dabbed on her neck "And you, of course"  
"It is wise that you do not let yourself again grow indolent in your ruling, Be aware of everything around you, Empress, You never know what can happen"   
Emily stiffened at his words "How dare you to come here and question my capability to rule over the isles."   
"I do not question, Your supremacy, I merely observe, and what I have observed of late is you ignore many things that deserve closer attention"   
"Oh please," Emily said, her anger rising "You come here after what you did last year and act as though you have any right to tell me what to do?"  
"I am not telling you what to do, Majesty, I am simply informing you that there are things you need to be focusing on"   
"I know some things you could be focusing on," She said with a rude gesture "I don't need you coming to bother me again, I have my throne and life under control, You aren't needed"   
"Very well, your majesty, Entertain what I have said, at least," He said before disappearing into a dust of shadows.   
Emily shook her head and sighed, She wanted so badly to get angry at him, But she had to keep some form of composure for her own sake. She finished her morning dressing routine and headed down to meet with her audience. 


	2. INTERLUDE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Emily deals with her daily stressors, The Outsider deals with his own.

1853, 10th day, The month of rain  
Somewhere else:

_"I inhabit two impossible places at once."_

The Outsider paced along the edge of a jagged Island in The Void, drawing smoke in the air with his finger and letting the result twirl around his hand. He mused on Emily Kaldwin for a moment, It had been near a year since he had visited her, but he had watched her on occasion, He had seen flashes of moments within her life after the previous year's events.   
He felt as if she was colder towards him, though he couldn't perceive as to why. He could almost imagine Emily's mocking tone "You're like an alien!" followed by an absolutely delightful laugh, He smiled to himself.   
It wasn't as though he had grown tired of the Empress, but he felt that there was no reason to continue visiting with her, and a reason had not presented itself for some time.   
The Abbey was getting questionable in their freedom, Emily had issued them freedom of expression within the Isles, But The Outsider could see that they have been taking it too far as of late, a fact that is well hidden from the public, but he sees what happens behind closed doors. He was almost disappointed in Emily for the choices she had made regarding the Abbey.   
"The Outsider" a voice said, sounding oddly accusatory, The Outsider did not turn as he knew what this was - Someone had died and their spirit set to wander The Void for all eternity, The Outsider was not a guide to the afterlife, and so he had a faint displeasure when newly departed individuals presumed he was "I am not Death" He spoke lightly, turning slow to face the man  
"No, I know what you are," The man said, "So this means I'm dead?"  
"You appear to be, Very strange to see a spirit hold onto their sanity, Many that wander here are discordant"  
"Now listen here, I'm very cordant!" The man said, an outrage creeping into his voice.  
The Outsider disappeared and reappeared to the man's left, pacing around him "So what am supposed to do?" The man asked  
The Outsider hummed thoughtfully "There is not much that you can do, you are a spirit now, You will wonder this place until the end of your days"   
"But my days already ended"  
The Outsider felt a pang of annoyance, it was rare for him to be in tune with the more human emotions that he had, but this man standing before him was certainly bringing it out of him.  
"Wander endlessly through the shadows of The Void, for it is all you have left"  
The man looked confused "What the fuck does that mean?"   
The Outsider ignored the foul language and tented his fingers together "My words are meaningless, unless you create your own meaning."  
"Then why would you say them? The Abbey was wrong about you, you're a damn idiot"   
"Enjoy the endless wandering," He said, the man faded from view and The Outsider paced to the edge of the small Island, he looked out at the vast and deep endlessness beneath him and took a deep breath. He would visit with Emily Kaldwin again soon, He had another story to tell her.


	3. Withering Gaze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily should know better than thinking she would be able to relax in her own office, not without The Outsider barging in with, acting a little stranger than he should be.

11th day, Month of Rain  
Dunwall Tower

_"Restrict the Wandering Gaze that looks hither and yonder for some flashing thing that easily catches a man's fancy in one moment, but brings calamity in the next." - The First Stricture of The Abbey: Wandering Gaze_

 

Emily watched over the proceedings in the Royal court, met with several advisers and had yet another audience regarding the situation in Morley. It had taken several hours and by the end of the day all Emily wanted to do was return to her room and collapse on her bed - But she had mountains of paperwork to catch up on. As everyone filed out of the court, Emily bumped into one of the Junior royal aides to the Lord Protector, She had bright green eyes and nearly blinding red hair "Oh dear" she said "I am so very sorry, Your Imperial Majesty" She uttered in a high-pitched voice, she bowed deeply, Emily chuckled lightly and waved her hand through the air "No no, I was the one who bumped into you, I apologize" She said "I guess I'm in a hurry to get to my paperwork!" She said jokingly  
"I'm sure!" She curtsied "Well I would hate to keep you from your royal duties, your Empress. Farewell!" Emily gave a small bow and watched the girl leave before making her way up to the second floor and retiring to her office, sitting at her desk was a daily occurrence that she welcomed.  
It wasn't as though she was uncaring of her duties and overseeing the royal court, but she did grow weary of the tensions with Morley, She longed for a new focus but for weeks everything had been regarding the trading crisis. She had met with more dignitaries in the last couple of weeks from Morley than she had in her entire ruling.  
She sighed and sat at her desk, a mountain of papers in front of her that she was to go through before the next morning, But she had very little desire to do much else but sleep.  
"Emily," Her father's voice said as he popped his head around her office door.  
"Come in, Father," She said  
He walked into the room and took a seat in front of the desk "I was pulled away before I could inform you"  
Emily arched her eyebrow "Inform me of?"  
"We have a meeting with a noble family from Morley in the next few weeks" Emily's shoulders dropped and she rubbed her eyes wearily "I cannot go to Morley," She said, shortly  
Corvo waved his hand "No need, I am sure they can be persuaded to come here, Your name does carry some weight in the isles, after all" He said with a smirk  
Emily smiled weakly "I just wish all of these negotiations would be through, I tire of this," She said, starting to sift through the papers on her desk.  
"This is what being an Empress is, mostly paperwork and occasional rest," He said with a shrug  
"By the way," Emily said without looking up from the pile of papers "When does the rest come in?"  
Corvo chuckled "In between your royal duties and your world saving adventures"  
This time Emily was the one to laugh "I do tend to find myself in interesting places" She admitted  
"No wonder The Outsider is so fascinated with you," Corvo said, eyeing his daughter almost as if to gauge her reaction.  
Emily gave him a look "Father, if you wish to ask me something, Use your words"  
Corvo nodded "Fair enough," He said, shifting in his seat "We have discussed what happened last year, but you close yourself off when it comes to the parts involving him, Particularly the last one"  
Emily tented her fingers "Father, I was under an extreme amount of stress last year, I wasn't fully over what had happened with Delilah and the coup, I was...vulnerable." She started to separate the papers by the level of importance, which was marked by colors ranging from blue, which was the calmest and least urgent to bright red, which was most urgent and needed attention right away. She often let the red ones sit on her desk for weeks.  
"And so he took advantage of you?" Corvo inquired, Emily didn't answer him, she knew what he was doing and she wasn't going to play his games, He would always try to get her to admit things that he believed to be true, But Emily was nothing but honest about her feelings.  
"In the utmost of terms, Father, I fell prey to my own emotions and loneliness, There is nothing more to it than that, and I do not consider his return to The Void to be of any relevance to my own life" She moved an inkwell closer to her and dipped her pen in it.  
Corvo raised an eyebrow "Emily, I have watched you grow up, I have insight into your feelings and thoughts, and I know when you are lying to me"  
Emily gave him her best Empress In The Courts smile "I can assure you, Father, I am being honest"  
"So you have no feelings regarding him whatsoever?" Her father asked, his tone full of doubt  
Emily shook her head "No, I do not, and.... I have a table full of papers I have to go through before tomorrow morning" Corvo took the hint and rose from the chair "I bid you farewell, then, Your Majesty" Corvo said, giving a slight bow before he turned and headed out of her office.  
Emily rolled her eyes, she knew her father meant well but often times it felt as if he searched for things to be concerned about regarding Emily and her well being.  
"The one who has most to hide is often the one spinning tall tales," A voice said behind her "And your majesty, your tales rise high past the visible clouds"  
Emily kept quiet, not even looking at the man, foolishly she thought that if she ignored him, he would leave.  
"Another curiosity," He said softly and sat at the edge of her desk. Emily wanted to ask him why he was here, but she bit her tongue and continued to pretend she was engrossed in her papers.  
The Outsider tapped his pale fingers against the wood of her desk gently, he started to hum a soft melody, one that Emily was certain she had heard before. She struggled to ignore him, tune out his noise as she read and reread the same paragraphs over and over again. The Outsider hopped off her desk and slowly examined the office, he spun the globe behind her, she wanted to look back at him but she stopped herself.  
"It never ceases to amaze me how things change from what they once were" He mused, Emily gave into her urge to glance around at him, he let his finger run over the spines of books, dust rising into the air "And many things remain untouched in this office" He said, turning around with his hands clasped behind his back and a sly smirk on his face. A look that made Emily feel as though she swallowed her own heart.  
Emily sighed deeply "I will be ignoring that remark, please take a seat." She said, he crossed around her desk, moving as quiet as a ghost, and sat down in the chair in front of her, reserved for visitors and those who wished for her favor.  
"What is your purpose for this visit?" She asked in a monotonous voice as if she were meeting with an official about the trade negotiations  
"Well, your excellency," The Outsider said, quickly catching on to her tone and playing along "I have heard troubling whispers, from Morley" a dark smile played across his lips.  
"I have had many members of society, nobles and merchants telling me that there is a problem in Morley, but they will not offer specifics, What am I to do with 'whispers'?" She sifted through letters on the desk, trying to get more organizing work done before passing out from exhaustion.  
"Take the utmost care in listening to them, of course, your majesty," He said, Emily could tell that he was having fun with this, and she noted that he was very good at playing the concerned Dunwall citizen, "I apologize, but I simply cannot spare any of my own on a voyage to Morley, things are tightly wound here as it is," She said, in a final tone  
The Outsider rose from his seat and took a deep bow, not the kind of bow she was used to seeing from the nobles in Gristol, but one of a different time and place "Thank you deeply for your time, Your ladyship"  
Emily shook her head "The door is that way, you may use it" She said sarcastically  
"That is no way to speak to another citizen, Empress!" The Outsider said, in a mock tone "I will, of course, take it into consideration as I wish to join you in your chambers for a story"  
Emily put a weight on the pile of papers to stop the inevitable evening breeze from blowing them every which way "I do not care for your stories, and if you have one to tell, why not just tell me here?" She asked  
"All will be revealed in due time, your majesty" He smiled and crossed to the door, pulling it open and heading out into the hall, Emily quickly rose from her seat and rushed to follow him  
"What if someone sees you?" She asked, shutting the door to her office and glaring at him  
"Your excellency, you are the only one who can, I only appear to those that I wish to see me," He said simply  
Emily felt her shoulders fall "Enough with the honorifics" She said "I feel like I'm back in court already"  
"No, Empress, if you were in court, you would be covered in the drool of the nobles as they bend down to kiss your hand"  
Emily walked with him to her chambers, she remembered a time ago when he bowed to her, took her hand in his own and pressed his lips softly against her mark, she remembered how it was different than other kisses she had received on her hand.  
She unlocked her door, letting him go in first and following, She shut the door behind them and placed her key on the side table by the door.  
"I don't understand" Emily said, crossing to her dresser mirror to pull the metal pins that held her hairstyle in place "You could have just done that disappearing thing you do and then reappeared in here" Emily freed her hair completely, letting it cascade down her shoulders "Though I suppose that would have given me fright"  
The Outsider chuckled "We don't want that, now do we?" He said, Emily felt his eyes on her and she stole a quick glance at him, He was looking at her the way a young child looked at the sky, like it was a wonder that they would never quite be able to figure out, but were entranced by all the same, She almost blushed.  
"Tell your story," She said, almost a demand.  
"I believe it is inappropriate for you to be informal during our talks," He said, a slight hesitation in his voice  
Emily hastily turned to look at him and dropped one of her pins on the floor "Excuse me?"  
"I merely mean that this is a serious matter," He said, looking anywhere but at her.  
"I have been formal enough today, I am ready to just strip the Empress act for a day" She crossed to her bathroom and splashed her face with water, She had no idea what The Outsider wanted, but she thought that he was acting strangely giddy. Which was an odd way to describe the man with many names but none his own. She grabbed a hand towel and pressed it to her face, drying it off. She crossed back into her bedroom "Why is it suddenly so important that I am formal with you?" She asked, tossing the towel on the bed beside him  
He shifted uncomfortably "I..."   
Emily smiled "Do I have the power to make a God speechless?"  
"No," He said, almost defensively "I have brought this up because I believe you have the wrong idea of our interactions"  
"What are you talking about?" Emily asked "Maybe kissing is a formality in Dunwall"  
He shot her a severe glance "That dry wit is not something I appreciate right now, Empress"`  
"Alright, I'll be serious." She said, sitting beside him "I don't have any ideas about our interactions, You made it perfectly clear when you left how you view me and the bond we had"  
"That is just it, Emily... It is unwise for me to connect in this way with a mortal" He said with a heavy sigh  
"Do you think I'm going to go crazy and adopt a bunch of rats?" Emily asked "I don't worship you, I don't revere you, I'm not afraid of you"  
"That is the difference between you and me, Empress," He said  
"Are you saying that you are afraid of me?" Emily asked, reaching out to touch his face, he pulled back "I am saying, as I have said before that I feel uncomfortable being this close to a mortal"  
Emily leaned into him, pressing her lips against the skin of his neck and letting her breathe warm him "Then why do you keep coming here?" She could have sworn she felt him tremble "Because..." He said with a stutter "I..."   
Without any warning, The Outsider disappeared from Emily's side and back to The Void, causing her to fall into her bed.

 


	4. INTERLUDE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Outsider's thoughts never stray too far from Emily Kaldwin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter quote is one of my own creation :D
> 
> __________
> 
> Sorry for the slow posting!

Somewhere Else  
11th day, Month of rain

_"There is wisdom in touch that cannot be conveyed through speech, There is also a danger" - Unknown_

 

The Outsider took a deep breath as he reappeared in The Void. he had felt something stir deep within him after seeing Emily, it made him feel strange, he felt almost as those do who describe intoxication.   
He paced around, his skull felt as though someone had taken carvers tools to it. The previous year when he had departed following the events that had transpired in Karnaca. He had told Emily that he would not see her again and yet here he was, visiting her, wishing to impart wisdom and stories upon her, he closed his eyes and felt his breath hitch in his throat, almost like drowning. Being close to Emily was an unwise idea, it was akin to the sort of thing The Abbey warns the citizens of the empire about.  
He sat at the edge of a small outcropping, The Void was very vast and nearly completely uncharted by him, There were places he had never laid eyes on, but he heard the whispers from every corner of the void since his death. As he sat there, he thought on The Abbey and it's warnings, He recalled when he was a young boy, the age of six and as he thought on this, the memory played out around him, shadows projecting images as clear as paintings.   
"Do you have any coin, Sir?" A young boy with mousy brown hair and muted green eyes asked a rich looking man  
The man turned his nose up to the child "Get away from me, you little mudlark!"   
The young boy grabbed the man's coat "Please, Sir I haven't eaten in so very long, My father breaks my bones if I ask for food"   
The rich man looked at the young child with a look of pure disgust "I hope he breaks more tonight, let go of me you disgusting freak!" The memory faded away   
The Outsider did not remember this, it played out like a memory from someone else's mind, but he supposed that the young boy was him, and the feeling of the aristocrat's jacket felt familiar.  
He closed his eyes, he felt his thoughts never straying too far away from Emily, it made him feel simultaneously warm and uncomfortable.   
"Emily Kaldwin" He said softly, he let the void change around him to take the form of Emily's bedroom, Everything inside the void was a moment in time and this moment was one from the cold Month of High Winds, Emily had been sitting at her desk and writing a poem, her hair was down.   
He crossed over to the image of Emily frozen in time, he rarely ever saw her with her hair down, it fell past her shoulders, A flicker of a smile played on his lips.


	5. Pretty Hate Machine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tensions rise as Emily has to deal with more and more meetings with dignitaries over the trade crisis, a mystery from Morley unfolding, a looming party on the horizon and The Outsider's confusing visits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter, mostly setting things up for further chapters and there's a lot of talking and ... well, not talking as the case may be, The mystery of Morely will be slowly hinted at throughout the next coming chapters, and Emily's party will be a really big event for everyone!
> 
> *
> 
> The letter Emily receives about the mists in Morley is a reference to a quest in World of Warcraft called "Remnants of The Past"  
> * * *  
> The opening quote is from F. Scott Fitzgerald and is from The Great Gatsby, I decided that I wanted to "dishonored" him up a bit, so I named him F. Fitzman from Cullero.  
> * * *  
> The chapter title is a reference to both an upcoming Gotham episode of the same name and the album by Nine Inch Nails

12th day, month of Rain  
Dunwall Tower, Emily's Office  
  
 _“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”  - F. Fitzman, Cullero Scholar._  
  
Emily sat at the desk in her office, she was reading through the letters that she had abandoned the previous night.  One particular letter caught her eye, with writing more unintelligible than anything she had seen from the highest noble's fancy scrawl, She squinted to make out the words.  It wasn't as though it were fancy, more the opposite.  
"Your Imperial Majesty, I write to inform you of the dire situation in Morley, Certainly the trading has been abysmal but I am speaking of something much graver, Believe me, or not but... My village has turned into something else, my kinsfolk have changed, some have grown violent, while others have fallen into madness and many have ventured out into the mists and have yet to return,  I do not know what will become of us"  
Emily was interrupted when Corvo came into the room "Your majesty" He said with a bow  
Emily placed the letter back on her desk and smiled at her father "Father, you don't have to be so formal with me when it's just the two of us" She had a flash of the previous night when The Outsider had chastised her for losing her formality in their conversation.  
"It's a habit," He said, sitting in the chair in front of her desk "I have dealt with all of the visitors today grumbling about the trades, I agree that this is a difficult situation but I can't bear to hear much more of it"  
Emily nodded "Which is why I delegated that to you" She said with a smirk as she signed her signature onto one letter and placed her royal stamp on the bottom of another.  Corvo jokingly rolled his eyes "If only I had someone to delegate the things I did not wish to do on"  
"Father" Emily placed her pen down on the desk "There are several papers here I need you to go over," She said. sifting through the papers and handing him the correct ones  
"What are these?" Corvo asked  
"They are mostly relating to the trade negotiations, some of them may be about Karnaca," She said absentmindedly "I feel as though I have so much on my plate, I'm so grateful you are here Father, I don't know what I would do without you"  
Corvo smiled "Delegate your work to someone else," He said without looking up  
Emily reached over the desk to lightly smack her father's arm, He rose from his chair "I'm going to need to head back down to the throne room" He handed her back the papers "Keep those separate, I'll go through them later"  
She took them and placed them in a new pile at the edge of her desk "I wish you luck, Father"  
"I'm going to need it," Corvo said, heading out and shutting the door behind him  
Emily picked up the letter she had been reading before, it was from a man named Osric Olliphant.  
What a name, Emily thought as she placed the letter in her drawer, she would look over this again later  
She rose from her desk and crossed over to her window, pulling the curtains open to let more light in and she heard the globe spinning behind her.  
"All the places in The Isles," the familiar voice said "And Dunwall has been in my view for many many years" Emily turned to look at him "What do you mean?" She asked, going over to the couch to tidy the pillows.  
"The Rat Plague, Delilah's attempt to possess you, Delilah's coup" He shrugged "It's all very Dunwall centered"  
Emily looked at him "Seems that everything you focus on involves my family" She raised her eyebrows  
The Outsider gave her a shrug  
"So why are you here, anyway?" Emily asked, approaching the man and gently brushing his hair off his forehead, He flinched and took a step back "That is inappropriate behavior, Your Majesty"  
Emily gave him a polite smile "No, I was being courteous"  
"To answer your question," The Outsider said, ignoring her remark "I am here to give you something"  
Emily stepped forward and toyed with one of the buttons on his jacket  
"Your majesty," He said, his voice stiff  
Emily smirked at him "You could move anytime you want, and yet you are still here, right in front of me" She said  
"There is a grave threat coming, Understand that this is serious"  
Emily sighed and pulled away from him "Can't I catch a break? Why is there always a grave threat on the horizon?"  
"Because you are an Empress" He answered  
"My mother never had to deal with stuff like this" Her eyes betrayed her exhaustion, The Outsider stepped forward, an intense look on his face.  
"There is something happening in Morely, do not ignore it"  He disappeared, Emily waited for him to reappear, but he did not, though a note lay on her desk written out in fresh ink and smelling of The Void.  
"Do stop trying to get so close to me, Emily, I have explained to you, as I'm sure you've come to the conclusion yourself, that this is not right"  
Emily felt her shoulders sink "You left a year ago and never spoke to me again!" She yelled at the room "Do you think I'm to blame for your decision to return to The Void?  Is that it?"  
another note appeared on her desk with The Outsider's response.  
"I did not say that. I made that decision based on my own thoughts, and it is for both of our own good"  
"Why is that?" Emily asked, sitting behind her desk "Because you are not a mortal? Because I'm an Empress? You didn't explain it when you left and I'm still waiting for your words to reveal something about why you've completely shut me out for the last year"  
"I do not wish to grow close to you, that is not why I marked you and it remains true to this day, We have a mutually beneficial relationship based on the realm outside of romance or sexual encounters"  
Emily crossed her arms and crumpled the note up into a little ball, throwing it to the other side of the room  
"You're a coward, in other words," She said with a scoff, a new note appeared on her desk  
"Emily, I do not know how many times I have to explain this. We grew too close to each other during last year's adventures, I do not wish to have that repeat itself, it is best if we keep our distance"  
Emily closed her eyes "Leave me alone" She said, her head starting to pound, it wasn't even mid-morning yet and she already wished to go back to her chambers and sleep.  
"As you wish, Your Majesty," the final note said  
"If you truly want to remain at a distance, I will respect that," Emily said, rubbing at her temples "But you cannot say one thing and act another way, You have a habit of doing this, Don't think I don't notice your actions when you are here.  You've avoided me for a full year after a hasty explanation and now you come visiting again under the guise of needing help? I won't play your games, my darling" She said, putting a sarcastic stress on the last words  
Emily waited, expecting another note to appear, It never did  
Good, she thought, now she could get back to work.  
  
* * * *  
12th day, month of Rain  
Somewhere Else  
  
The Outsider walked among frozen moments in time, many of them having to do with Emily Kaldwin,  The Void was a timeless place, but he somehow felt as if all his time was spent with her occupying his mind.  
During the previous years events, After Whitmore went through the portal, the resulting explosion sent them all flying backward, The Outsider had been injured, and the only thing that saved him was disconnecting himself from his mortal construct. He did not wish to do this, he was perfectly content with dying, his existence ending, but Emily changed his mind.  
He knew that he did not wish to miss a single moment with Emily Kaldwin, if he was in a state of nonexistence, he would never see her face again, the pang of that dug deep into his heart and he knew what he had to do, letting go of his construct and returning back to The Void.  The Void may have been a timeless place, but for what was months, He fell back into his emotionless pit  
He hid it well, but there was a flood of emotions threatening to release from him, He almost felt numb from the desire for human touch, Even when he could not see Emily, even when he could not speak to her, He felt their connection, as if a string tying their fates together was being tugged on.  It was unwise to pretend that the connection was not there.  
He had not been human in so very long and being a part of that construct was something he had been remarkably unprepared for, he had thought prior that he was above succumbing to those baser instincts.    
His emotions were unbridled, his passions were wild and hedonistic. There were so many things he had never explored, that he had not the time to explore,  he never knew those kinds of feelings before; His reactions and moods much more intense than that of a normal person who would have many of those emotions at various intervals in their lives, The Outsider, however, had been experiencing them all at once.  
He hesitated to admit, even to himself that it was a feeling he both grew to hate and to love.  
Now he was feeling much more neutral towards it all, he felt gray, but he was not sad. Though he did feel that there was something missing in his life. "No," He said aloud, this path of thinking was very dangerous.  
  
* * * *  
18th day, month of Rain  
The Throne Room, Dunwall Tower  
  
"It is the utmost importance to our fair city to be open to trading with others, These standing negotiations are cutting into careers and livelihood, That is something that cannot stand, I promise you as your Empress that I will speed the process along and get your lives back to normal" Emily was giving a speech to the Royal court today, Something that didn't especially enjoy doing on days that were not special events, But the trade negotiations were fast becoming the only thing the papers talked about and they were starting to place blame on "The Incompetent Leadership of Empress Kaldwin", Corvo had spoken with her over breakfast, telling her the best course of action would be to let the public know that she was working hard to fix the issues and get the people of the Empire back on track.  
As Emily finished her speech, Corvo came up to the dais "May I escort the Empress back to her quarters?" He asked Emily as the citizens and others started filing out of the throne room, Emily shook her head "No, I'm going to be heading to my office, There are some more letters I must read through"  
For the past near week, Emily had been receiving more and more letters from various people throughout the Isles, many of them royals, but some of them merely peasant folk living on the streets and wishing for a better way of life, This, to Emily was one of the hardest things about being an Empress, being able to watch the suffering, but not being able to help.   She stepped down from the Throne and bowed to her father, heading up to her office.  
She had been thinking of the letter from that Morley man for the past week, What could happen to a town to change the people inside of it the way he had described?  She knew she was getting obsessed over something that was probably of no consequence, But it was interesting to her, She sat behind her desk and opened the drawer, taking the letter out and reading it through again.  
"Well, what do we have here? is the Empress letting a distraction affect where her focus should really lie?"  The Outsider appeared in the chair on the opposite side of the desk, startling Emily and causing her to knock over an inkwell, staining some of the letters resting on her desk  
"Damn it!" Emily shouted, hurriedly picking up the inkwell and moving the letters away from the flowing ink "Could you maybe bother me some other time?" She snapped at him  
He raised his eyebrows and tented his fingers together, he was seated with his legs draped over the arm of the chair in a much more casual position than any God should be.  
"If that is what The Empress of The Isles wishes" Emily glared at him, rising from her desk "You made me get ink everywhere!" She shouted, "It's on my clothes!" She pushed past him and strolled down the hall to her chambers and her bathroom, sitting on the edge of the tub, she started to unbutton and unhook her royal day clothes, now stained with dark ink.  
The Outsider appeared, leaning against the doorway and watching her.  
Emily pulled her jacket off slowly revealing a long sleeved white shirt coated with ink in several spots, she started to unbutton it. The Outsider strolled over to her and sat near her on the edge of the tub "Here" He said, reaching for her hand, She looked at him.  
"I'm a little surprised you did not yell at me for being in here"  
"I knew you were but, I'm too mad to care right now,"  Emily said as he gently brushed his fingers against her ink-stained hands  
"What are you doing?" She asked, yanking her hands away  
"I am simply helping you remove the ink from your skin" He drew his fingers through the air "I can do a lot of things, Emily, Watch," He said, gently taking her hands back in his  
As he caressed her skin, the ink stains slowly faded until there was no more, The Outsider looked at her "It's... all over your shirt" He said  
"Maybe I should take it off" She took her hands back and started slowly unbuttoning her light shirt, not looking away from The Outsider, who if it was possible, looked even paler than usual, He leaned forward and pushed the shirt off her shoulders slowly  
"It's on my stomach," She said with a teasing smirk, almost daring him to touch her bare skin, he hesitated for a moment before placing his hands against her stomach until the ink slowly faded.  
He stared at her "Emily there are matters to attend to" He said softly, his voice trembling.  
"I don't understand you, did not you not just chastise me for wanting more and pushing it away?" She asked "Did you not say I craved your touch?" She leaned into him a little bit, his breath became ragged and he struggled to keep his composure.  
"Emily.... Please" He said, breathlessly  
"I do not believe that I am the only one here that desires, wants and craves," She said  
"Do not act so high and mighty, Empress" He said, starting to rise from the tub "I at least focus on other matters, which you seem to be ignoring entirely, Your duties, for example, have fallen by the wayside."  
Emily grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and pulled him into a kiss, passionate, heavy, she caressed his neck and he rested his hands against the bare skin of her back, She pulled away putting only just an inch of space between the two of them "Take off your jacket" She said, breathing heavily, He swallowed "Emily..." She pressed her index finger to his lips "Shh, your Empress demands it"  
He shakily took his jacket off and tossed it on the floor, Emily grabbed his hand "We're not doing this in here" She said, grinning and leading him back into her chambers, she pushed him over onto the bed, kissing his neck and unbuttoning his shirt with one hand.  
He pushed her away "Emily please" He sat up "This is not...."  
Emily groaned "Just go," She said, "If you're going to be difficult, just leave!"  
"I did come here for something," He said, his voice uneasy  
Emily let out a bitter laugh "Yes, you did, to make me feel guilty for the way I rule as an Empress and to pull away from something we both want!"  
He scooted over to the edge of the bed and started to button his shirt back.  
"Don't have anything to say to that?" Emily asked  
"No," He said simply, disappearing back to The Void without another word.  
Emily headed into the bathroom, grabbing his jacket and throwing it angrily on her bed.  
  
  
* * * *  
  
"Empress," Corvo said in her ear "A man from Morley is here to see you" Emily looked up at her father with a raised eyebrow "Do you know what he wishes?"    
Corvo shrugged  
"Let him in" She announced to the guards standing by the doors, they opened it and let the man pass through.  
Although Emily had a relationship with Morley since she was a child, she had never actually been there and as such wasn't aware that not everyone dressed as proper as they do here in Dunwall, the man was wearing brightly colored golden robes with a red trim, his fur cloak looking as though it had the lining of royal blue silk, she tried not to stare as the man walked closer to the dais.  
"State your business," She said "I was led to believe my audiences were through"  
the man bowed deeply "Forgive me, my lady" He said, looking at the floor "I was late getting here because of my boat"  
"You are forgiven, now state your business," Emily said, she was far too tired to deal with any more visitors complaining that she isn't doing enough to fix their trade issues  
"My name is Cicero Crane, I am from a wealthy family in Morley, we are most concerned for our people, You see... There is something beyond the trading negotiations but the papers will not speak of it! They do not dare!" The man stepped a little closer to the Dais "There are strange mists! The monsters come from them and they take our children! You MUST help us, Lady Emily!"  
Corvo stepped forward "All right, you've taken up enough of Empress's time, Guards, escort this man away from the tower"  
The guards complied and Emily rose from the throne "What was that all about?" She looked at her father, he motioned for her to follow as he headed through the door that lead to the staircase.  
"Just between you and me, that man is off his rocker." Corvo said, ascending the stairs and looking behind him at Emily "The Crane family is well known for being not quite right in the head, Erroline Crane once bathed in the moonlight in her own urine because she thought it would summon The Outsider"  
Emily looked at her father in horror "I don't know if I should laugh or scream" She said as they made it to the upper floor  
"People do crazy things get The Outsider's attention," Corvo said  
"And here we are, getting it when we don't want it" Emily mused  
"Well some of us want it more than others" her father teased her, Emily cleared her throat "Father!" She said.  
The previous year, Emily spent a fortnight believing that The Outsider had died in the explosion of that portal, she had later learned he merely ran off to return to The Void, he had appeared in her room that night and they had a rather unpleasant discussion.  She had spent months being angry with him for his actions, and she still was, even more so after she had seen him last.  She bid farewell to her father and headed to her chambers, there were stacks of papers on her office desk but she had no desire to read them.  She crossed to her bed and pulled the covers back, she wanted to take a rest before dinner.  Her thoughts shifted back to The Outsider, it had been several days without any contact from him and she was beginning to think she had hurt him in some way, Although she did not know how much a God could be hurt by a mere mortal's words.  
"Thinking about me, again, are you?" The Outsider appeared beside her, causing her to jump slightly.  
"God, don't DO that!" She hissed, placing a hand over her heart, which was thudding hard against her chest "You startled me"  
"I apologize," He said dryly, Emily found herself doubting the sincerity of his words as she looked at him.    
Emily sat on the bed "What is it you want?"  
"I wish to impart knowledge onto you that may help you in the coming days"    
Emily put her hand up to stop him from continuing "There is no way you are telling me that there's something else wrong in this world and I'm the ONLY one who can possibly fix it"  
A grin played dangerously over his lips as he sat on the bed, tapping his fingers against the soft bedspread "Comfortable" He stated.  
Emily pushed his hand away from the bedspread "Do you... sleep?" she asked, delicately  
"I do not require it, but sometimes I do partake in rest" He admitted, "Why do you wish to know this information?"  
Emily shrugged "I just was curious"  
"It is strange that you remain curious about me while being so very angry with me,"  He said  
"And do you know why I'm angry with you?" Emily asked.  
He shook his head  
"I have an idea, but I do not comprehend what it means"  
"You are so complex," Emily said, leaning over on the bed and touching The Outsider's face "You bring out so many emotions within me, anger, fear, exhilaration"  
"Nervousness" He added  
"I'm not nervous," Emily said  
"I was referring to myself," He said, hesitating a little bit, "When you touch me, when you are near... I become unable to focus, I become nervous in a way I don't remember feeling before.  It is why I requested that you and I maintain a formal standing with each other"  
Emily gave him a surprised look "I-I don't know what to say to that"  
"Perhaps that is best" He sighed and his shoulders slumped down, Emily was overwhelmed with just how human he was looking at that very moment, she felt herself wanting yet again to give in to her urges.  
"Maybe....we don't need words," Emily said slowly, he looked at her "What do you mean, Emily?" He asked, his eyebrow arched in confusion  
Emily leaned forward, resting one hand on his thigh and placing the other around his waist.  He flinched slightly but he did not pull away from her. Emily studied the buttons on his jacket, almost entranced by them.  
"Emily," He said, a hint of worry in his tone "I sincerely hope that you do not think this is what I met by formal" Emily let out a giggle, she looked up at him studying the lines of his jaw and collarbones.  
Without hesitation she leaned further into him, her tongue running over his collarbone, she grazed her teeth against his skin and felt his hand upon the small of her back, cold even through her clothing, she looked up at him and pulled him closer to her, their lips inches from each other. "We have to stop meeting like this," She said, feeling her heart racing, beads of sweat dripping down the back of her neck.  
"Emily" He breathed "I...."  
Emily silenced him by pressing her lips to his, with her hand on the back of his head, grabbing at his hair.  He suddenly pulled away from her and looked her in the eyes. "What do you want for this moment, Emily Kaldwin?"  He asked quietly  
She pushed him down to the bed and laid beside him "I want the feeling of your skin etched into my memory" She said, brushing her fingers against his neck as the two lay there side by side.  
"I want each moment of pleasure to last for an eternity, I want the passion of this moment to ignite us, to burn on our lips for all of time"  
The Outsider closed his eyes  
"Tell me a story, Emily" He whispered "One without words"  
Emily felt dizzy with the desire rushing through her mind and body, she took the opportunity to pull her shirt off, unhook her suspenders and expose her nearly bare chest.  She grabbed his hand and placed it against her skin.  
He opened his eyes and sat up "Emi-" He began, Emily pulled the pins out of her hair and let it brush against her shoulders,  
He made a strangled noise in the back of his throat, biting down on his bottom lip "This is possibly the most nonformal you could be behaving"  
Emily laughed "Will you just shut up and kiss me?"  
He responded to her with a smile, pushing her back gently onto the bed and kissing her neck, Emily moaned and her thoughts became an incoherent mess, twisted by passion and desire that was rapidly rising within her. As he explored her body, many more articles of clothing were tossed aside.  
Emily felt intoxicated as he hungrily pressed his lips against hers, his hands caressing her body and causing shivers down her spine. She dug her fingernails into his skin and let out a low moan, he responded to her moan by pulling his lips away from hers and moving to kiss her shoulders.  
There was a low knock on the door to her chambers "Your majesty" It was Astrid's voice on the other side of the door.  
Emily pulled away from her lover, gasping for air and struggling to level her voice "What is it, Astrid?"  
"The Lord Protector wishes to discuss something with you in his office," She said through the door  
Emily groaned quietly, "Inform him that I am busy"  
"He says it is important, do you really wish for me to tell him you are busy?" Astrid questioned, "You aren't in your office, what do you wish for me to tell him?"  
"Tell him I am indisposed" Emily answered  
"I will tell him, your Majesty," Astrid said, Emily waited until she heard the footsteps disappear down the hallway to the stairs before letting out a heavy groan "I should go see what he wants," She said "If it's so important" She pulled away from his embrace  
"Will you wait for me?" She inquired "I won't be very long" She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead  
He looked at her and nodded silently, Emily wondered for a moment if there was something wrong but didn't ask, she pulled the shirt back over her head and grabbed her jacket, leaving the room to visit with her father.  
She took the walk down the hall to her father's office as a chance to compose herself, running her fingers through her hair and making sure her forehead wasn't sweaty, she came upon his office door and knocked lightly "Come in"  his voice said behind the door.    
Emily entered, her father's office also doubled as a study, and was currently lined with history books and maps  
"You wanted to see me, Father?"  
"Emily, why don't you take a seat," He said without looking up from the book he had his nose in, Emily obliged and sat across from him. "What's going on?"  
"It has to do with the new construction that is being questioned by the Empress" He said, finally putting the book down "Apparently there are doubtful people within the higher society, people who also do not wish to have this old building turned into such a tawdry display" He sifted through some papers "I've gotten word from Miss Theodora, who is on the council for the rebuilding project, that she and the others overseeing the project would be happy to have a special event to discuss your ideas"  
Emily sighed "A party?" She shook her head "They want to discuss their objection to a tawdry display with another one? Father, you know how I hate parties"  
"Emily, I think it would be a great idea, It would show them that you are willing to give them more than just an audience at your royal courts or in the halls, And it's good for public image"  
"These events are always the same for me, Father, I constantly get my behind kissed by toadies" She closed her eyes and pressed her palms to her forehead "I'm going to have to think about it" She finally said "Thank you for informing me of this, I will return to my chambers"  
"No dinner tonight, Em?" He asked as she was headed out the door "I'm not hungry" She said.  
"Are you feeling alright? Astrid said you were indisposed" Her father questioned  
Emily hesitated "I feel a little faint, it must be the heat or something"  
Her father nodded and looked back to his book "Why don't you open up some of your windows and get some fresh air?"  
Emily rose from the chair and headed towards the door "I might do that, I don't know how much it will help though" She headed out of the office, shutting the door quietly behind her and heading back towards her chambers.  When she arrived back, The Outsider was still there sitting on the edge of her bed, surprising Emily just a bit.  
"Oh," She said, "I thought you would have gone by now"  
"The reason I remain is... there is something I need to discuss with you" He said, Emily could have sworn she saw him shift uncomfortably, She sat beside him "What is it?"  
"I have mentioned before that I think we should either maintain a platonic association or nothing at all" He began and clasped his hands together "I am repeating it, without the disruption of your touch."  
Emily felt anger surging in her bones " _Excuse_ me?" She said accusingly "disruption? You're the one that keeps coming here!" She shouted  
"I have only visited with you because I have information, You choose to ignore it by way of carnal distractions"  
"You are just as much to blame for that as I am!" Emily said, crossing her arms and scoffing "I am not ignoring my duties, if that is what you are implying, You have come here with nothing but riddles, mystery and a taste for giving into my touch," He looked down at the floor "Emily" He said softly and almost sadly "I wish to help you, but I cannot do that if our further exchanges are not as formal as the meetings you hold with dignitaries of the Isles"  
He looked up at her, an unreadable expression on his face "And they cannot be with the constant distractions of wanton desires"  
"I don't need your help," Emily said, getting up from the bed "I've never needed your help! You came into my life and I never asked for any of this!" She showed him the back of her marked hand, which was currently glowing orange  
"I never wanted this, and I never wanted you!  My life and my father's life would be a lot easier if you would just leave us alone"  
"Very well," He said without looking up at her "I shall leave, but remain aware of what I have said"  
"All you ever say is that I'm a bad Empress,"  Emily said angrily "You go away and come back at your own inconvenience, claiming neutrality but intervening many times, and to what end?!" She shouted, "Do you enjoy playing your little chess game safely from your little moral high ground?"  He rose from the bed, only inches from her, anger apparent in his tone "I have had enough of this! You stand there acting as though you are high above all of this, watching the world from your ivory tower and getting lost in your reckless decadence, I would have expected a bit more from you, _Empress_." He said with a sarcastic emphasis on the last word.  
He was close enough to kiss, close enough that Emily could grab him and pull him into her embrace, They stared into each other's eyes until finally, The Outsider broke eye contact  
"Leave," Emily said  
"Your wish is my command, Majesty" He bowed to her "I bow to no one, but I bow to you, How does it feel knowing a God defers to you, Empress?"  
Emily ignored him "I said leave"  
"You can wish me away as much as you like, but you cannot wish away the hardships of being on your own, This is a lonely life, Emily Kaldwin, I was merely trying to help you"  
Emily grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him hard toward the wall "and I said that I do not NEED your help!" She yelled, "I never asked for your void forsaken opinion on anything!" She pulled him away from the wall to slam him back into it, he flinched a little, but showed no other signs of discomfort "You need to make up your mind" She said "You either want to help me or you dislike being around me, you either wish for platonic 'friendship' or something more, You cannot have both, you have to choose!"  
"I think we both know what my choice will always be, Your Imperial Majesty," He said before disappearing.  
Emily balled her fists in frustration "YOU KEEP CONTRADICTING YOURSELF!" She shouted to the empty room, and grasped her hair, tugging on it angrily before throwing herself down on her bed and screaming in her pillow as loud as she could muster.  
  
  
  



	6. INTERLUDE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Outsider makes a decision to accept what he has been denying, a change that will affect many things throughout The Isles.

19th day, Month of Rain  
Somewhere Else

_"When we exist, we believe_   
_When we believe, we exist" - Unknown_

 

The Outsider was leaning against the wall of an old alley he had summoned The Void to take the shape of, he closed his eyes. In all of his years of being alive, all he ever saw was constant violent and hateful actions taken by humanity, punctuated by the moments when someone chooses to do something else.   
Corvo, Emily... But even they were human at their core, succumbing to their deepest and darkest desires. The Outsider was tired, nothing ever changed, nobody was truly different.  
"Why am I still here?" He asked the memory, it rippled slightly as a young man walked out of the shadows of the alley   
"You know the answer to that," the young man said  
"That is something that I do not know" The Outsider responded, still leaning against the wall as his former and younger self paced around him.  
"Do you think that I can help you? I am but a faded memory of a person you no longer are" the young man said  
The Outsider shook his head, "Do you disagree?" The young man's tone changed to that of surprise "Do you still believe there is a part of who you used to be within you? The child who stole, the beggar who cried?" He stopped in front of The Outsider as he waited for an answer  
"Nothing so specific" The Outsider admitted "Mere emotions, feelings"  
The memory laughed "Liar!" He shouted, "You are LYING!"   
The Outsider raised his eyebrow at The memory "What makes you think that?"  
"I am a part of you" The Memory answered, "A part of you that you lock away within The Void, as if I'm not already used to being locked away."   
"What is your meaning?" The Outsider asked, firmer this time  
The Memory sighed "You are in love with Emily Kaldwin, are you not?"   
The Outsider lost composure for a moment, his foot sliding against the wet alley floor, he straightened up and brushed his hands against his jacket to smooth it  
"That is what I thought" The Memory smirked "But you won't admit it, you won't let yourself feel it" He waved his hand through the air "You don't do anything but observe, That is why you are experiencing boredom."  
"I do not wish to interfere," The Outsider said  
"Oh by the void!" The memory said, exasperated "I am a part of you, I stole, I ate food off the streets, I punched people, to survive! Where is the fire?"   
"I do not need to fight for survival," The Outsider said, losing patience with the young man  
"Right," The Memory said, his voice heavy with sarcasm "Delilah, Zhukov, that lovely little knife that slit our throats" He drew his finger across his own neck to mimic his death, The Outsider winced "What is your point?" He asked  
"My point is that if you are tired of watching the way the world is now, change it! Have some excitement!" He smiled "You LOVED it when you were in that mortal construct! You hunger for that feeling again, and you can have it" He said  
The Outsider gave The Memory a look "What are you referring to?"  
"Accept the parts of yourself you are trying to deny, accept me." He said, stepping forward and extending his hand   
The Memory stepped through The Outsider, leaving him overwhelmed with feelings, emotions, and memories that he had tried his best to bury.  
"I... accept," He said, willing the alley to disappear back into the inky blackness of The Void.


	7. Gods, Mortals and Other Strange Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily finds herself more stressed than usual when The Outsider shows up with an attitude she doesn't recognize.

20th Day, Month of Rain

Emily's Room, Dunwall Tower

 

_"Do not accept to the invitation of the Outsider. The drink he offers is poison, and on his hearth death simmers."_  
_Sayings of the Overseers, 41_

 

"We still have absolutely no idea how to fit this party into all the scheduled meetings you've got over the next few months. " Corvo said, Emily and her father were discussing arrangements for the special event where Miss Elenor Theodora and many of the other council members who do not wish to see the old building being destroyed and replaced by a new social hangout for the rich.  
Emily sighed "I hate planning parties, Father, Why can't we just tell Miss Theodora that I am much too busy?"  
"Because this may be your one chance at avoiding the old building getting condemned"  
Emily shrugged and sighed "I'll figure it out, I have time" She looked up at her father "But for now I shall enjoy some recreation"  
At her father's insistence, Emily was to take some time to herself, recreational activity such as drawing, painting, and bird watching from her windows, These were things that calmed her and helped her keep a grip on herself. Corvo shared with her that her mother used to have habits that centered her as well  
"I'm glad you're taking my advice to heart," Corvo said, turning back to look at her before opening the door "If you need me, I'll be right down the hall"  
"Yes, Father," She replied "I always know where you are, You don't have to remind me"  
"It's a fatherly thing, Emily. I just want you to be safe, This city can be dangerous and it's always nice to know you're taken care of" He said, to this, Emily rolled her eyes "Yes Father, I understand, now please leave me to my room" He gave her a small bow and opened the door, gently shutting it behind him.  
Emily turned to open her window when she saw him sitting on the edge of her bed "By The Void!" She exclaimed, "Do you have any idea how to show up like a normal person?"  
The Outsider surprised her by laughing, a hearty and full laugh "Emily" He stood up and walked over to her, She noticed something different in the way he moved "Nice to see you again, Empress" He leaned into her, smelling her hair  
Emily felt her breath catch in her throat, She felt a little nervous at his change in attitude but she was intrigued all the same  
He raised himself up on his tip toes and pressed his lips against her forehead, Emily reluctantly pushed him away from her "What are you doing?" She said, her voice shaking  
"I'm merely saying hello, Emily" The Outsider sighed lightly, "I think I know how I want to say hello" His tone something Emily had never heard before, something akin to flirtatiousness  
"H-how is that?" Emily asked, unable to pull away  
He shrugged "I don't know Emily, maybe you could come up with some ideas?" smile flickered on his face  
His smile was intoxicating, Emily could barely breathe as he leaned in closer, pressing his lips against her neck, she came to her senses and shoved him, causing him to fall backward onto her bed "What in the void do you think you're doing?" Emily asked, putting her hands on her hips "You come here every other day wanting something that contradicts something you've said before! Do you even know what you want? "  
The God pulled himself into a sitting position, he smirked "I do"  
Emily sat beside him "What is up with you? You're acting... if it's possible, weirder than usual"  
The Outsider laughed "I'm not acting weird, Emily"  
"No, There!" She hissed "That was weird, you don't laugh"  
"Maybe I'm in a joyful mood" He responded playfully  
"Joy? In the void? Unlikely"  
"You mortals are often enamored when you are experiencing feelings for another," He said with a smile that made Emily shiver  
"What are you on about?" She asked  
In one swift motion he pushed Emily down onto her back, one hand on the back of her neck and the other dipping between her thighs "Emily" He spoke into her ear, a whisper that echoed through her bones "I have... changed... I have learned how to give in to my deepest desires" Emily moaned as he kissed her neck "And I will no longer deny myself what I really want" There was a hunger in his words that made Emily's body tremble beneath him "Just remember this moment" He said with a smile before disappearing.

* * * * *

Emily was having considerable troubles concentrating the rest of the evening after The Outsider's visit, she stumbled her way through dinner, all while dodging her father's questions about her mood, she claimed she was just tired buts he knew that he suspected she was lying. She wasn't about to mention The Outsider's visit. By nightfall, Emily found herself restlessly sifting through papers, she had been staring at the same lines, reading them over and over without really letting the words or their meanings penetrate her mind. She sighed and decided to turn in early, heading to her chambers.  
She removed her day clothes and slid under the blankets, her body felt tired despite her not having a very long day, the blankets felt cool against her warm skin and her thoughts wandered to The Outsider's visit once more, She recalled the grin on his face, different than his normal pompous know it all grin, it was almost flirty, She almost wished for his hands against her bare skin at this moment. Her thoughts lead her hands between her thighs as she relived his visit.  
Her breath quickened as she let her fingers explore, a light moan escaped from her mouth and she found herself so distracted by the pleasure that she did not hear the whoosh of the air  
"Emily" a soft whisper near her ear, Emily gasped in surprise and grabbed the blanket up to her chest "What are you doing?" She hissed, her heart beating faster "Just visiting" He said with a smile  
"Do you mind?" Emily said, trying to catch her breath "I was trying to sleep"  
The Outsider chuckled darkly and leaned into her, breathing against her neck, She bit her lip to stop herself from moaning "Please go..." She said, feeling warmth tingling through her body.  
"You don't want me to go" He whispered, Emily felt her fingers start to brush down her thighs again.  
The Outsider grasped her hand to stop her exploring herself "I want you to experience something" He said, a flicker of a smile across his lips he brushed his finger against her neck and blew softly against her ear.  
"Please" She whispered "Just go"  
Emily felt something brush against her stomach, she gasped when she saw shadowy tendrils traveling across her skin and enveloping her body, she felt warmth and cold where the shadows touched, she moaned as the shadows caressed her breasts, sending shivers of pleasure through her body. The shadows crept between her legs, leaving no part of her untouched, Emily arched back in pleasure, letting out a moan that almost sounded like a scream.  
She reached out to grab The Outsider by his shoulders, pulling him closer to her "I have no idea what your game is here" She hissed "But I want you to leave"  
"I do not understand what you mean," He said, Emily almost heard amusement in his voice  
She dug her fingernails into the side of his face until he pulled back, the shadows disappearing into nothingness "You have no right to continue coming into my life" Emily said, pushing herself out of bed with the sheets wrapped around her "Why do you still come around here after everything that has happened? Is there more? Is there something I'm supposed to do? Be a hero once more?" She crossed over to her dresser and grabbed out his jacket that he had left during one of his many infuriating visits, she threw it at him  
He tossed the jacket aside and rose from the bed "I don't appreciate the rude behavior, Emily. I come here because I obviously prefer to be in your presence, Is it so difficult for you to accept that?"  
"You have ulterior motives, that is why I cannot accept it. You can't possibly expect me to believe that you come here to spend time with me based on the feelings you claim to have for me" She grabbed a nightgown from her wardrobe and covered herself, heading towards the window and opening it  
"Dunwall is a beautiful city," The Outsider said, standing beside her and looking out the window as well "Too bad the Empress is an uptight, overly wound liar"  
Emily looked at him, completely affronted "How dare you?" She said, smacking the side of his arm  
"How dare I?" He said, sinking into the chair near her window "I don't understand how you could have gone through so much and you remain the same little child who wanted to sail the seas and fight monsters, You have a duty, Emily"  
Emily rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, she took a seat opposite him "I am well aware of that, I deal with my duty every single day, You have no right to come here and tell me how to rule"  
"And yet here I am, telling you how to do it properly, But you won't listen to me, You live your entire life in this castle but you have no idea what it is to live on the fringes of the world, to be an outsider. You will never know how that feels"  
"I don't have to know how it feels to know that I don't want that for these people, MY people!" Emily said, shifting uncomfortably under the weight of the accusations that the man in front of her was throwing her way  
"You didn't seem to care before," The Outsider remarked  
Emily sighed, rubbing her temple with two fingers and closing her eyes "Why are you here? Why are you yelling at me and why won't you leave me be?"  
"I am here because I enjoy spending time in your presence, You have always intrigued me, I assumed we had a sort of friendship"  
"Friendship?" Emily scoffed  
"Yes, Emily" He responded "Friendship, I had thought that maybe I should not get too close to mortals, as it would remind me of who I was once, the fear that I could lose myself.... I did not want to be connected with someone, to feel close with someone" He said, his voice softer as he reached for her hand, Emily yanked her hand away from his "Avoiding the fact that I was once human, a mortal with a very real desire to be wanted has become detrimental."  
He looked down at the floor and sighed "If I am harsh with you, it is only because I wish the best for you, and I merely get frustrated when you do something that goes against that"  
"That goes against what?" Emily said, clenching her fingers against her palm "You think you know what is best for me?"  
"I can see many things, Emily," He said  
"Alright," Emily said, rising to her feet "Then you can see yourself out, I've had it with you"  
The Outsider looked recognizably hurt at Emily's words, he bit his lower lip "Emily... Please be patient with me, You seem unable to grasp that I have not been around many, I do not know... how to deal with situations that may arise, I am not stupid by any means, But dealing with an Empress is a lot more difficult than the sort of people I had seen when I lived"  
"I am more than just an Empress!" Emily shouted, "And I am more than just your puppet conduit for the adventures YOU can't have!" She grabbed the jacket she had thrown at him early on and tossed it out the window and onto the streets below  
The Outsider rose "I am not good with people, Emily. consider that before you let your temper get the better of you. I am saying that I care for you."  
"The only thing I care about right this second is you leaving," Emily said, her heart beating faster in her anger  
"Yes, I will depart. Consider thinking about what I have said, as I will be back time and time again." He disappeared back to The Void, Emily sank down to her bed as the breeze blew the curtains on her windows adrift.


	8. INTERLUDE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Outsider returns to The Void and has a conversation with an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The beginning quote is from Ecclesiastes 1:9

20th day, Month of Rain  
Somewhere Else

_"What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." - Unknown verse_

The Outsider reappeared in The Void, taking a deep breath and filling his lungs with the burning acrid smell of The Void.  
"Strange," a voice said behind him, He turned to see The Memory leaning against one of the dark structures. "What is?" The Outsider responded  
"You have feelings for her and yet you don't... do anything about it" The Memory said with a shrug "I mean I didn't have much experience with that" He let out a giggle "But I saw things out on the street, People kiss, they make out, They go out on dates. Why haven't you gone on a date with Emily?"  
The Outsider gave the boy in front of him a glare "I do not understand your meaning, Your words travel a path but what is the destination?"   
The Memory snapped his fingers and The Void changed around them, a frozen moment in time  
"Where are we?" The Outsider asked, looking around the scene, They seemed to be in a garden  
The Memory laughed "You don't remember? I used to go here each day after primary teachings" He walked around the garden "I remember that this place was the only place that calmed me down after a horrible day. Do you remember that?"   
The Outsider touched his nose uncomfortably "I do not, and if you have a point, I want you to get to it"   
"My point," The Memory said, turning around to face The Outsider "is that Emily serves the same purpose for you, She calms you, she relaxes you. Give in to what you want, you desire her."  
"What do you know of desire? You're a child" The Outsider said, rather harshly "Leave me be"  
The Memory crossed to him, stamping his worn boots against the grass "There is no need to be rude here!" He shouted "You said you accept, so accept it. "  
The Outsider took a breath before responding "Alright, what does this entail exactly? I thought you were a part of me now?"  
"I am," The Memory said, a wicked grin appearing on his pale face "I'm a part of the Void, you're a part of the Void"  
"So what next," The Outsider asked, feeling his patience slip away from him  
The Memory twirled around on the spot "You need to remember your name"  
The Outsider froze, He had once had a name - of course, he did, when he was alive his name was as much of a part of him as the void that courses through his blood now, So why could he not remember it anymore?  
"I'll give you a hint!" The Memory said clasping his hands together in excitement "It begins with a W"  
"Why don't you just tell me?" The Outsider said, crossing his arms and scowling  
"Fine," The Memory said "It's Wesley Silas"  
"I do not recall that name," The Outsider said, "How am I to believe it is mine?"  
"That is your name, It's my name," Wesley said  
"How do you even remember it? You're just as old as I am"  
"I retained my ability to act like a normal person" He grinned "Because I did not let go of what I was, you have"  
"I did not have a choice," The Outsider said  
"There is always a choice," Wesley said "Now go! Go see your lady friend. Tell her what I told you! She'll be so excited"  
The Void returned to normal, and the memory of who he was disappeared from his sight once more, The Outsider sighed


	9. To Wish Impossible Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily gets ready for a party, with The Outsider's help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I switched formatting because it was getting a little difficult to read the larger blocks of text, I will break lines for dialogue, actions and the like a little more often. It's also easier to write  
> _______________  
> Also switched from an Emily focused meta to an all seeing type of meta for the last line, because I needed to foreshadow the arrival of a new character.  
> _______________  
> Beginning chapter quote is my own writing.

1st day, The Month of Wind  
The Safe Room,  
Dunwall Tower

 

_When nearing the end of the evening, the sun will part with the sky, a kiss upon the tops of buildings as if wishing them goodnight, those who are privy to the beauty of the sun must look away, it is always at it's strongest when it is leaving and even the tiniest of glances will both take your breath away and leave you immensely blind. - Excerpt from a destroyed book_

 

Emily cracked her neck carefully and took a deep breath, She smoothed the wrinkles in her outfit. It had been a week of hard planning for the event that event that would take place in only a few more days, She was exhausted both mentally and physically. She had help from Corvo, but it was still exhausting to be dealing with all of her duties as Empress as well as party planning.

She had escaped to the Safe Room to have a moment or two to herself before being overwhelmed with responsibilities once more, and was about take a novel off her small shelf to sit and read, a moment of relaxation when she felt the air around suddenly as cold as ice.

Emily didn't need to turn to know that The Outsider was behind her.

Suddenly feeling his arms against her waist, ice against fire, She sighed "What do you want?"

"I've been watching you Emily" His voice was a whisper as light as the smoke that surrounded him. "I see everything that you do" Emily felt his voice deep inside her bones, She hated that he had this effect on her.  
"Who are you trying to fool, Emily?" He said, his voice dripping with seduction.

He lightly brushed his fingers against her neck as he moved a stray hair away from her skin, Emily bit her lip, caging a moan that begged to escape.

"What are you..." She said, struggling to keep her composure as she felt his breath against her skin, light as smoke, hot as a fire.

"I question your motives, Emily," He said, finally moving away from her and taking a seat on the small bed across from her, beneath the childhood drawings that were pinned to the walls, memories from The Rat Plague.

"No more than I question yours," Emily said, not turning to face him, she would not give him the satisfaction of knowing he had gotten under her skin "It has been a week.... since you have come to see me, Your visits are confusing, you seem to want to chastise me for not doing what I should be doing.. or what you think I should be doing. But you're watching me, you can see that I am fighting for good"

"By saving the orphanage building?" The Outsider asked "It is indeed a commendable act, Emily" He said "But, it is still a distraction" He put a stress on each word, pausing between them for a deeper effect.  
Emily finally turned to him "Ah! A distraction. So what is it that you call the touching, the kissing..." She crossed to the small bed and leaned over him, her arms against the wall to keep herself from falling, her lips threatened to brush up against his but stopped just short.  
"I know what I want Emily, and I can want more than one thing" He whispered  
"What is it that you want?" Emily said, her voice steady, she would not betray her emotions to him.  
"I want you to pay attention, I want you to focus on the bigger picture," He said, his tone challenging "Morley, There is a problem there. You know this and you won't do anything about it"

"Because I do not have the ability to send anyone away from Dunwall Tower! I do not have the people to spare!"

"Emily Kaldwin would let a little pebble stop her from causing her own ripples? Almost astounding"

Emily straightened up and shook her head "I am being a responsible Empress"

The Outsider scoffed at her "Emily, Morley is in danger, I have no reason to lie to you."

"I have not heard any news of troubles in Morley besides the trading issues" Emily said, Pushing off the wall above him and crossing over to one of her drawings pinned to the small section of the wall, she gently brushed her fingers over it, almost touching the memory of herself sitting at the Hounds Pitt, trying to drown out the sounds of The Loyalists' schemes.

"Because you hear all the whispers in the world." The Outsider said "You see all corners, you know all things"  
Emily did not turn from her drawings, she stared at the charcoal lines, the faded color, she almost remembered the smell of the burning bodies, how the nightmares lasted long after she came back from The Golden Cat

"What do you want me to do?" Emily said, her shoulders slouching as she sighed "I have a party to plan"

"Ah, Yes, The lavish and beautiful, reckless decadence under the guise of charity." The Outsider said, his tone sarcastic  
Emily pushed a stray hair off of her forehead "If you don't have anything to offer, Please leave"  
"Oh, I have things that I can offer you, Emily," He said darkly, Emily was about to turn to face him when he disappeared, reappearing behind her.

She felt goosebumps on her skin, and he hadn't even touched her yet.

"What could you possibly offer me?" Emily spoke in a low whisper, afraid that her voice would betray her emotions if she dared to speak any louder

The Outsider leaned close against her back, his arms around her waist "A night of passion that puts the Fugue Feast to shame" Emily closed her eyes, feeling her body ache with the promise of skin against skin.

She wasn't going to give in that easily.

She pushed out of his grasp, spinning back around to face him and gently brushed the back of her hand against The Outsider's pale face "You dare to speak to an Empress like this?"

Her voice was low, commanding, She almost felt The Outsider tremble at her touch and her words.

"Such a disrespectful display. You must have absolutely no manners" She said in her best impression of her childhood Governess, Callista Curnow.  
The Outsider leaned to whisper in Emily's ear, his breath hot against her neck, though everything else was ice cold "Maybe you can teach me, Or, if I prove to be unteachable, you can punish me"

  
Emily gulped but stood her ground, she took a step backward to distance herself.  
  
"Playing hard to get now, Are we?" The Outsider said, a wicked little smile on his face "We'll see how long that lasts"  
Emily scoffed "It can last forever," She said defensively.  
  
The Outsider simply smiled, putting a little more space between them and saying no more on the subject.  
"Now, I can help you with this party. And, once you've finished with this distraction, I can get your focus on Morley"

Emily rolled her eyes "Do you promise to stop showing up uninvited to chastise me about my 'lackluster' job as Empress?"  
"Empress Emily," The Outsider said, his face severe "Do not put words into my mouth, and I am always invited here"

He disappeared in black smoke, reappearing at the door to the safe room "Shall we adjourn to your chambers and go over your plans?"

Emily smiled, despite herself and followed him out to her chambers.

"The party, which is being referred to as a 'Royal Event' by my aide Astrid has been set up as a mingling sort of getting together type of party, There will be refreshments, dancing, entertainment"

The Outsider put a finger to his lip thoughtfully "It seem a little bit too sumptuous for a mere discussion, Why can't these people request an audience with you like everyone else?" He asked

Emily looked up from her notes on the Royal Event and raised an eyebrow "Your tone informs me that you already know the answer to that, This is Dunwall, I'm The Empress, and everyone is rich"

"Not the homeless that wander in off the street, One night to pretend, one night to see the other side of the glass," The Outsider said, leaning back in his chair and placing his hands behind his head

Emily shook her head "You speak from experience, I presume?"

"It was a way to get food, at least. Void knows my father never fed me" Emily was intrigued, The Outsider didn't often speak of his life from before, She was always under the impression that he did not exactly remember much of it.

"You're correct, Emily," He said suddenly, Emily froze, She had momentarily forgotten that The Outsider was quite gifted in hearing her thoughts, Even if he wasn't trying to pry. She fought her face turning red as she wondered if he could see her dreams as well.

"I do not speak of my old life, and it is partly because I do not recall much of it." The Outsider said

Emily put her pen down on the parchment and gave her full attention to the man in front of her

"Repressed memories?" She queried

"I find myself unable to recall moments from my childhood after my mother..." She admitted, looking down.  
The Outsider reached across the desk and placed his hand gently on hers "It is likely, It was a rather traumatic experience, Both of our experiences, I must say"

Emily shook her head and broke their contact "It's not quite the same, I may have lost my mother, but you lost... everything, you lost yourself, your name... Your memories, and your freedom. The Void is as much of a cage to you as your home"

"The Void is as it always has been, once nothing, now it is a residence, Much too cold to be a home though, Emily" He said with a smile, though it seemed forced, he picked up one of Emily's papers and examined it "I believe I can help you with the sketches here" He took a charcoal pencil to the parchment and carefully created a depiction of a party scene, complete with party-goers and decorations,

After some time, he handed the parchment to Emily, she studied it with great interest "Wow" She said, each beautiful and intricate detail more breathtaking than the last "You can draw?"  
He nodded "You know, it's interesting. The Abbey of The Everyman considers me a Great Destroyer, They call me such abominable names, That such a monster, could create, that such a monster could even feel" He mused  
"You don't believe that about yourself, do you?" Emily asked, sensing sadness in his tone, though he tried to hide it  
"What I believe does not matter, Majesty," He said, shadows of emotion played over his face, but he did not divulge.  
Emily continued to study the beautiful sketch "I'll show this to my designers, They will be ecstatic!" Emily said with a large smile, she rose from her desk and crossed over to The Outsider, placing her arms around his still-sitting form and squeezing with all her might  
"Thank you so much! This is fantastic! I had no idea... that you were such a talented artist" She pulled away from him, her smile still plastered on her face

"I had been worried about the designs as soon as I was informed I was to have this party, you have put my mind at ease"

"Anything for you, Majesty," The Outsider said, staring at his hands

"Are you bored?" Emily asked, rising to her feet and placing the sketch carefully in a leatherbound book that contained many of the torn pages of parchment, notes scribbled all over them, some eligible, some utter nonsense.

"I could never be bored in your presence, Emily" He looked towards the windows "This may be an odd request" He began, gauging Emily's reaction, which as he expected was a tense nervousness

"May I have a dance with you?" He asked, his voice soft, a hint of shyness.

"You wish to dance?" Emily asked

"I wish to continue the legendary feat of getting you to relax, Dancing is a good way to do this, and it gives us the opportunity to be close to each other, dancing is very passion fueled." He pushed the chair out and stood, holding out his hand for Emily to accept or reject

Emily smiled and slowly took his hand, "Take my troubles away, Outsider"

As the pair danced in The Empress's quarters, gently swaying to music that transcended all worlds, a young nobleman from Morley was arriving in the city.


	10. Before The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily talks to The Outsider about the Void before preparing for the big party and meeting with a royal who wishes for her hand in marriage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two part chapter, this is where crap starts hitting the fan. Emily's last moment to relax for a while!

2nd Day, Month of Wind  
Dunwall Tower, Emily Kaldwin's office

_"There is nothing that keeps men at any one moment out of the cold and shivering Abyss, but the vigilance of the Abbey."_   
_—High Overseer Falke Barrowe_

 

Dunwall was enduring the strongest heat wave of the last ten years, The sun was bright, scorching the ground beneath and filtering into the windows of Dunwall Tower with such ferocity that Emily was certain her papers were going to catch on fire.  
She leaned back into the chair, propping her feet up on her desk, not a proper way for an Empress to sit, as Callista would always inform her, but she did not much care for the intricacies of being royalty as much as she cared for not being uncomfortable.  
Sweat dripped down her forehead and the haze made it nearly impossible to breathe like she was trying to take a deep breathe underwater.

There was a tap on the door "Empress?" The voice of Astrid, her royal aide echoed out in the hall, Emily wiped her forehead and sat straight in her chair, pretending to pour over papers "Come in, Astrid" She said, feeling like she took a large gulp of salt water  
Astrid came into Emily's office and scurried over to her desk "There is an unscheduled visit with Marcus Edwards" She put a stack of papers on the desk   
"Marcus Edwards?"   
Astrid nodded "He comes from Morley"  
Emily quickly scanned the papers "What is he here for?"   
"He is of royalty, apparently his family have sent him with the intention of asking your hand in marriage"   
Emily sighed deeply "I guess it is that time of the year again" She handed the papers back to Astrid, who gave her a concerned look "Empress? Are you alright?"   
Emily waved her hand as if to push away any indication that she wasn't "I'm fine" She said "It's just this heat wave"  
Astrid nodded "Have you seen the papers? they're saying it's the hottest it's been for a long time"   
Emily nodded "Is Lord Edwards in the tower?"   
Astrid shook her head "I have word that he arrived in the city last night, You should expect him soon"   
"Alright" Emily sighed "I wish they had sent me a letter at least"   
Astrid stood there, perhaps waiting for Emily to speak more, but Emily did not when she realized Astrid was waiting she looked at the girl "Oh!" She said "I'm sorry Astrid, I just became lost in thought, You are free to leave"   
"Thank you, Empress" and with a small bow she had left and Emily was alone again  
Well, not entirely  
"You did get a letter," The Outsider said, appearing behind her, Emily spun in her chair to look at the man  
"You merely misplace everything and as such, it became... overlooked"  
Emily raised her eyebrows "I have a feeling that isn't true"   
The Outsider scoffed "I've no reason to lie to you, Emily"  
"Yeah, well, I consider it a favor, I hate this time of year," She said, pushing herself up out of the chair and crossing to the window, opening it in the hopes that it would cool her office down, all it seemed to do was blow warm air into her face.

"Droves and droves of royals from all over the isles wish for my hand in marriage and I couldn't tell you how exhausting it is pretending I'm interested in any of them," Emily said, abandoning the window and laying on the couch by the empty fireplace.  
"You find none of these men interesting? What about a royal woman?" The Outsider asked, sitting on the table in front of her, his hand gently resting against the wood.  
Emily laughed "Not that I couldn't see myself with a woman, but I couldn't see a woman royal proposal going over well. Dunwall is open minded to an extent, but I know people would talk"   
"People would talk more if they knew you spent an increasing amount of time with the God of the Void"  
"That would be the talk of the town for sure," Emily said, smiling up at him. He disappeared from where he was, appearing right beside her.  
They spent a while sitting together, Emily's head resting against The Outsider's shoulder, besides the sound of the stale breeze blowing into the windows, there was silence. After a while, Emily finally broke it by asking a question "Something has been on my mind for quite a while" She began - The Outsider looked at her, curiosity in his eyes.

Emily had spent so much time with the God that she was able to tell his emotions from his pitch black eyes, many had claimed that The Outsider's eyes had no humanity, but she found herself a comfortable home in the obsidian pools.

She always did love darkness.

"My father had been to The Void before..." Emily said "But he... the way he told me the stories, it was different when he was there"   
The Outsider nodded "The Void is a vast and unknowable place" He ran his fingers through his hair, Emily thought this was a rather human thing to do, she couldn't stop herself from smiling.   
"There are many places in The Void. And some places are older... more terrifying"  
"Like where you took me?"   
"The ritual site" He nodded "I know there are unknown places in The Void that even I have not seen and have no information on, but I have no desire to see them"   
"You told me the ritual site had a strange power, That Delilah stole that power to become somewhat immortal. Why then, did you take me there? Were you not afraid I would have just taken that dark power and gotten my throne back that way?" Emily sat up on the couch as curtains blew in the breeze.  
"I knew that you would not," He said simply  
"What makes you think that?" Emily asked, starting to undo her hair  
"Because you did not," The Outsider said, cocking his head in confusion, as if he could not understand why Emily was even asking him these things "It is not so strange, Emily. I have seen you, I know how you act. There is no possible way you could have taken such a corrupt power, to stoop down to Delilah's own antics."   
Emily sighed, she pulled the pins out of her hair and set them gently on the table "Maybe I could have. There were times when I felt like I was losing myself a little bit"   
"Emily, you will never lose yourself while I still walk between these worlds. I will keep you." He said, grasping her hands in his, raising them up to his lips and pressing a kiss to her skin, like a promise, her heart fluttered and she blushed  
"I have a lot of work to do," She said, staring over at the papers laying on her desk "And I still have a lot to prepare for the party, Plus I am supposed to meet with royalty from Morley"   
"I would not wish to keep an Empress from her duties," The Outsider said, disappearing in black smoke.

 


	11. Walk The Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily has an unsettling meeting informing her of a rumor that is circulating in Morley

2nd Day, Month of Wind  
Dunwall Tower, Grand Entrance

_You rule my dreams, where I behold with senses I do not possess in waking life the dark splendor of your home in the deep. There the ocean rests on your back like a sleeping child on his father's shoulders. - Excerpt from a longer work of fiction._

 

  
Emily descended the staircase as Astrid approached  
"Lady Emily, Marcus Edwards," She said, gently leading Emily towards the man.  
Marcus Edwards stood at about six feet tall and was dressed in a deep royal blue suit, It was a fashion sense Emily had never seen from someone out of Morley, as their style tended to be a little more extravagant. There was something simple, yet enticing about his outfit. To say nothing of his appearance. Emily studied his face, He had simple and soft features, blond hair that was cut short and spiked at odd angles as if he had carefully and meticulously tended to it for hours.

Emily offered a smile to him and her hand, he bowed deeply and placed his lips onto her skin, Emily was used to these meetings, of course, She remembered many dignitaries and other royalty coming here with the intention of asking her hand in marriage.

The Empress wasn't required to marry, of course, but it was a tradition that had only recently been broken by her mother, who had never had a relationship in the public eye and people were starting to talk about Emily, little whispers and gossipers wondering why there was not a union between her and another nobility.   
"It is very nice to meet you, Lady Emily" Marcus said, rising to his feet and keeping his fingers entwined in hers.  
Emily smiled "It is nice to meet you too Sir Edwards" Marcus waved away the title "Oh please, no such formality is necessary for me" He was a little bashful "Would you like to speak in a more private place?"  
Emily nodded "Of course, We can head up to my office, Astrid, please let father know that Sir Edwards has arrived and that we will be speaking before he meets him"

Astrid nodded and wandered off to search for Corvo.

Emily walked with Marcus up the spiral staircase, down the long hall to her office "My father is the Royal Protector, usually first to meet any appointments I have, but I believe he's occupied with another priority at the moment, Which is why he could not meet with you. He sends his apologies" Emily said.  
Truthfully, her father was distracted by helping her plan the party, but she suspected he had other things on his mind as well, He was quieter than usual.  
Not that they hid anything from each other, ever since Galia and Zhukov, they became a little more trusting to tell the other what was going on in their lives.   
"Oh of course I understand, the duties of a royal protector vary," Marcus said as they turned down the hall, Emily looked at him "They have the same positions in Morley?"   
"Similar, not quite the same. And not quite as good" He chuckled   
Emily gave him a small smile as she opened the door to her office "It's a little cluttered in here" Emily said  
Marcus looked around and raised his eyebrows "It's nice to see the Empress isn't all proper and tidy" Emily laughed "You have no idea" She walked over several stacks of papers "It's just that my obligations are kind of drowning me these days, what with the Morley issues"  
Marcus nodded as Emily took a seat behind her desk, motioning for him to sit in the chair opposite, he obliged and sat gently down, His posture was absolutely impeccable.

Emily had sudden flashbacks to being coached on her posture by Callista at the Hounds Pub "Stand up straight, Emily!" Callista would scold, Emily would, of course, tease her by slouching many times on purpose. Emily shook herself back to the present.  
"I suppose it's a little odd to meet somebody like this" Marcus said, fidgeting in the chair "I was...rather uncomfortable with the idea of coming down here, but I have been pressured by my family. I suppose that's part of it" He admitted "The other half may be that they believe the trade crisis will be resolved faster if we find love with each other"   
Emily chuckled "It's admirable that you are willing to admit that, and do not worry, I have been in this position many times. I simply deny them and we all move on with our lives."   
"Except, perhaps, the papers," Marcus said "Rather rabid gossip starting of late"   
Emily raised her eyebrow "Excuse me?"   
His pale face flushed red "Oh, please I beg of your forgiveness Lady Kaldwin, I did not mean to speak in such a way"   
Emily put up a finger to stop him "No, no there's nothing wrong with what you said, but .... what are you talking about?" She asked  
"You don't know? Maybe it hasn't gotten to Dunwall yet, but up in Morley, There are rumors you are already involved with someone"   
Emily felt herself freeze on the spot, her heart beating heavy and fast against her rib cage  
"There was a little rumor piece in the last issue of The Senitial, Which is our paper. It claimed a witness who had visited Dunwall spotted The Empress with a dark haired man" He said, tapping his fingers against his knees   
Emily coughed, she got up "I am so sorry to cut our meeting short but I need to speak with my Royal Protector"   
He rose, confused as she started ushering him out of the office and back through the hall "I truly do apologize Sir Edwards, I look forward to meeting with you again soon, There is actually a formal event coming up, I will have Astrid send you an invitation" She offered the man a smile, he bowed deeply again "It was a pleasure, I shall be away, I would hate to keep you from your duties" an exact echo of the words she had heard earlier from The Outsider, He flashed her a smile and started his way down the grand staircase.

* * * *

Emily rushed to her father's office, finding him sitting at his desk pouring over papers, "Emily" He said looking up and taking off his reading glasses "What's going on?"   
Emily placed a hand to her chest "I met with Marcus Edwards"  
"Yes, Astrid informed me that he had arrived. I take it the meeting did not go that well as he is not here with you right now"   
Emily shook her head, she sat down in the small chair "It's not that, He informed me of a rumor circulating in the Morley newspapers... about me..."   
Corvo raised an eyebrow "More bad press?" He asked  
"The rumor is that I have taken a lover..." She said, swallowing nervously  
Corvo cleared his throat and gave Emily a severe look "And this lover wouldn't happen to have dark black hair, Would he?"   
Emily nodded "I... I don't have a paper or I'd be able to know exactly what it said, Marcus was surprised to hear that I knew nothing of it, He suspects the rumor hasn't made it to Dunwall yet"   
"And a bloody good thing too... Emily, How could you be so careless?" Corvo said, standing up   
Emily stood with him "I am not careless!" She said and he shook his head again "Take me to your room, right now. We need to have a discussion" He pushed past her and walked briskly down the hall  
"Father!" Emily said, chasing after him "I am not a little girl!"   
Corvo spoke without stopping, without turning around as Emily kept up the pace "You may not be a little girl anymore, but this is serious, Emily, if this gets to Dunwall, if they find out WHO it is"  
"I can't see how they would," Emily said, following her father into her chambers "Why are we in here?"   
"Safe room, now," Corvo said without answering her question, Emily waited for him to open the doors lock with the signet ring made by Anton Sokolov and followed him into the safe room, He closed the door "Sit"   
Emily sighed and sat on the small bed, surrounded by little drawings from her childhood and various stuffed animals  
Corvo stood in front of her "I wanted to bring you in here to talk about this in a safe place nobody else will be able to overhear, This is a sensitive subject... Emily, I'm not mad at you, I'm just... honestly confused as to how this happened"   
Emily shrugged "I don't know Father, I really don't... Marcus said something about the article mentioning a witness abroad in Dunwall..."  
"Maybe an undercover reporter who was looking for dirt on you in the first place?" Corvo said, "It would make sense, with the tensions high maybe they thought..."  
Emily scoffed "Use it as leverage to get what they want for the trade deals? That's despicable!" Corvo nodded   
"It's politics, Emily, you know all about dirty politics"   
Emily looked down at her feet "What are we going to do?"  
"Damage control," Corvo said "It's all we can do right now, It's not in Dunwall as of yet, but... you're going to have to make some kind of bold move to show that those rumors are not true"   
"Like what?" Emily asked, raising an eyebrow "Marry Marcus?"  
"Well. Emily..." Corvo said "If this rumor gets to Dunwall and spreads throughout the rest of the Isles.... It's going to be bad, especially if it becomes more than just a rumor about you having a lover. If they EVER put together our... connection with The Outsider..... Emily, there would be a witch hunt."  
Emily stood up and started pacing "I think you're right... Our family name would be destroyed, they would brand us as heretics, even force us out of the Isles... I... I have to think about this"   
"Emily, don't forget your duties" Corvo warned  
Emily shot him a look "Oh really?" She angrily threw herself down onto the bed, pouting "Don't forget my duties? HOW could I focus on any of this now?! My seat on the throne is in jeopardy, AGAIN!" She put her face in her hands, Corvo sat beside her, placing his arm around her "Emily, It's going to be okay. We've weathered tougher storms than this" Emily sobbed into her hands "How? How is this going to be okay?"   
"We'll find a way to fix this, We always do. In the meantime, speak with your boyfriend about being a little bit more discreet."   
Emily lifted her head "You're right.. I have to calm down... We've still got a party to plan, and it's... tomorrow... oh god!" She threw her arms in the air "We're never going to get the rest of it finished by tomorrow!"   
"Yes we will, let's head upstairs and get some of the staff on it, We've got this, Emily, We've always got this"

 


	12. Your Time is Gonna Come

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily overhears some unsettling news and her and Marcus come up with an idea.

3rd Day, Month of Wind  
Dunwall Tower, Throne Room

 

_From the ashes a fire shall be woken,_

_A light from the shadows shall spring;_

_Renewed shall be blade that was broken_

_The crownless again shall be king_

_-_ Excerpt from a larger work of fiction. 

* * * * * 

Emily decided that nothing short of a miracle was responsible for her and her father being able to set up the rest of the party overnight. Of course, they had help from the royal staff and Emily's aide, But for her to stand there in the throne room and see all their hard work come to a reality. Emily was beaming with pride at the work.   
"Well we did it," Corvo said, coming up behind her and patting her on the shoulder "Can't believe it, I'm not ready for this party tonight"   
Emily laughed "Talk to Elody, She's been on high alert since the party was announced" Emily pointed at Elody Mayes, the captain of the watch   
"I don't blame her, Emily" Corvo ran his free hand through his hair "This is going to be a long night"   
Emily sighed "You think you're in for a long night? I have to go on a date with a man I may end up having to marry to dispell these rumors" Corvo cleared his throat "Rumors that are true, and please let's not discuss that here" He said firmly "Now you still have some time before the guests arrive, if you'd like to head up to your room for some rest. I'd gladly finish the rest of the decorations" Emily nodded   
"I could use a nap, I feel like I haven't slept in a month."  
"Well, you better get some rest, Time is moving"

Emily waved her hand in annoyance. She walked carefully around all the newly hung decorative drapes that they only brought out for special occasions and headed up to her room.

She undid her hair, She wasn't yet sure if she was going to sleep or just relax on the bed with a good book, It had been a long time since she was able to relax enough to read. It was one of the reasons she loved having The Outsider tell her stories.

She walked to the window to shut the curtains and then slowly she took her clothes off, it was sweltering hot in her room even with the windows open.   
"Ugh" She groaned as she slipped under her sheets. Her entire body was exhausted from all the decorating. Usually, The Empress did not have to include herself in decorating and pre-event setting up, but she always loved to get involved, it made her feel useful.

She laid back onto the pillows and decided that she would try and sleep, she figured she could get in at least an hour of rest before the festivities that evening.

Her rest was fitful at best, plagued with tossing and turning and her dreams images of Dunwall tower, the party, aristocrats laughing, harsh graffiti, bright lights and the blinding light of a fire. She sat up, gasping for air and dripping with sweat.

It was late evening, the sun was starting to dip below the clouds. Emily shoved the sheets off of her.

"Are you sure you're going to go through with this?" She heard someone say out in the hallway, grabbing her gown and slipped it over her shoulders, pushed herself out of bed and looked through the keyhole.  
Two city watch guards and Emily's royal aide Astrid were standing there with Corvo, looking over some sort of papers "I don't see that we have any choice, The announcement is going to be made tonight. Someone is trying their hardest to spread these wicked rumors and if they get to Dunwall...The Abbey will be all over us and we may never have peace in this castle again."   
Astrid creased her eyebrows in worry "I don't like this. If these people are willing to create such tawdry rumors to discredit Lady Emily.... What else will they do?"  
Corvo nodded "Exactly my train of thought. I've placed extra security measures around the tower entrance tonight, some of my own personal contracts within my position as Spymaster."  
"Are you sure they're trustworthy?" One of the city watch guards asked.   
"Yes, I would trust them with my life, and your captain already approved the men and women I put in place tonight. They are plain clothed and unnoticeable, but if Emily is in danger at any moment during the party... We will know, and we will be able to stop it"

Emily pulled herself away from the door and started pacing around her room, what were they going to announce? Was her father going to marry her off without her consent purely just to stop this rumor? She had told him she needed to think about their options and now he is saying there is something to announce?

She wanted to confront her father, but she felt like there was no way around this, except... She looked towards her open window, she could climb out to the roof and let her feet take her away from this place for a while. She quickly dressed and jumped out onto the ledge, sneaking to the larger part of the roof and dropping down to crouch, she felt like hiding but anywhere she could go they'd be able to find her.  
"Trying to run away?" A voice behind her said. Emily turned to see Sir Edwards leaning out the window of her room  
"No," Emily said, looking at anything but him  
"It appears you are" He observed "Why don't you come back inside? You seem to need somebody to talk to"  
Emily reluctantly climbed back through the window and dropped onto her bedroom floor   
"Do you do this often?" He asked  
Emily shrugged "Only when I feel like getting away" She looked around her room before sitting gently on her bed "Did Astrid let you in?"  
"Yes, But she must have gone away to see the Lord Protector. I apologize if I intrude, I simply wished to arrive early for the party as a chance to sort of get to know you a little bit better before we go on our first date" He nervously ran his fingers through his hair  
Emily smiled weakly "Unfortunately it may be a little more complicated than that. I happened to overhear my father speaking in the hall and I believe that they might be announcing that we are to be wed"  
His eyes widened "I assume as a way to bypass the 'secret lover' rumors?"  
"Yes, and unfortunately... We may not have a choice, Listen Sir Edwards" She started "I am very sorry about all of this, I do not wish to force you into this situation."  
"I came here because of my family, because of the trade crisis, They wish me to marry you for politics... isn't this just the same thing?" He asked, sitting beside her on the bed and taking her hand in his "These rumors are bad for your title, for your rule"  
Emily sighed deeply "I don't know what to do, The times when someone comes for my hand in marriage, I politely decline"  
"Was that your intention with me?" He asked gently  
Emily thought on this for a moment "I can't say for certain, you are much nicer than many of the people I've been subjected to in the past"  
"I guess it doesn't matter now does it?" He said, sighing and slumping his shoulders "We've both got so much to lose. If I go back to Morley, my family will disown me" Emily looked at him in shock "What?" She asked, "Are you serious?"  
He nodded slowly "I was sent here for one purpose, politics. I find you a joyous person to be around, but before I had met you, I did not want to be here. I find it absolutely degrading to essentially force a woman to take a hand in marriage as if she is not powerful enough on her own. As if she must be in love to rule competently" He huffed  
Emily placed her hand on his shoulder and nodded "My mother felt a lot of the same things, She fell in love with my father and... they never married, they had to keep their love a secret because they both agreed they didn't want her image as a ruler to be changed by a companionship. To be defined no longer by her title and her actions but by her relationship with another"   
He nodded "Your mother sounds like she was a wise woman"   
Emily smiled "I wish I had more time with her before she had passed"   
Marcus gave her a sad look, he then shook himself "I'm sorry Lady Emily, I figure it must be tiring to have that kind of sympathy thrown at you"   
Emily laughed "I've gotten used to it by now, You have nothing to worry about"   
The two sat in silence for a moment, watching the sun disappearing from the sky as night set in.   
"We barely know each other, Lady Emily. But we both need each other" Marcus spoke up suddenly  
Emily nodded "So what do you say? Want to get ready for our surprise marriage announcement?"  
"I would be honored," He said, pulling her hand up to his lips and gently pressing a kiss to her skin  
"I have an idea," Emily said, a devious smile appearing across her face, "I think we should announce our intentions before my father can"  
"Are all Empresses trouble makers?" He asked with a chuckle  
"As far as I know, it's just me," Emily said, rising from the bed and helping him to his feet  
"Let us away to the festivities" He offered his arm  
"Mi'lady" She placed her hand gently down on his arm "Mi'lord," She said with a smile.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The opening excerpt is the poem All That is Gold Does Not Glitter by J.R.R Tolkien from the Lord of The Rings franchise. 
> 
> The "Mi'lady/Mi'lord" exchange is a reference to an episode of Community.


	13. Emily Kaldwin's Last Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Party is on! Emily has the longest night in her life as she tries to do her duties, stave off rumors and tend to an inebriated Outsider, Things take a turn when a murder sends Emily, Marcus and The Outsider fleeing to the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 1 chapter of the longest night of Emily's life, tune in next time to see a murder mystery and a rush of jealousy fueled emotions!

Month of Wind  
Dunwall Tower  
  
 _Oh, will the circle be unbroken_  
 _By and by,  by and by_  
 _There's a better home awaiting_  
 _In the sky,  in the sky_   
\- Excerpt from an old folk song   
  
Emily and Marcus had prepared for the party separately, carefully discussing their plans for the evening in order to announce their own marriage, before Corvo could do the honors.   Emily walked down the stairs, meeting her father at the bottom   
"Emily," He said urgently as he took her arm and walked with her "There's a bit more to the rumors than originally thought." Emily was smiling, waving to aristocrats as her and her father walked through "Do tell"   
"Rumors of you and your secret lover being heretics, engaging in heretical practices.  Outsider worship"   
"That would make him rather conceited, wouldn't it?" Emily said, not changing her expression from that of a smile  
"Emily, focus.  This is serious.  One of my spies picked up information that these rumors will be printed to the Dunwall, tomorrow"   
Emily stopped, letting out a gasp "What?" She said "Tomorrow? The day the courts are supposed to decide on the whaling decree?"   
"Yes, Emily.  And it will probably be used to discredit you in the Morley situation as well" Corvo said, giving the room a once over "Might not want to stop smiling. People might get the wrong idea.  This is your party, after all"   
Emily forced a smile on her face.    
"I must go meet with the aristocrats about the building demolishment.  We can discuss this later, Father" Corvo nodded.   
Emily walked away from him, he had absolutely no idea that she knew his plans tonight.  And she had no idea if the marriage announcement would be enough to deter those rumors, She might still be in trouble, whether it's with the courts... Or the abbey.   
  
She'd rather have the courts.   
  
She remembered when she was younger, after the Rat Plague, Her first majorly unpopular decision was attempting to put a ban on whaling, a tradition she has kept up for seventeen long years.  She had been visited by the High Overseer at the young age of twelve.  He had told her she was making the right choice, but she was quick to catch on that he didn't care about the well being of the whales as much as he cared about their bones being used to carve runes and bone charms, heretical items that many Outsider worshippers carry on their person at all times.   
When Emily was younger, she didn't know much about The Outsider, just snippets of propaganda from The Abbey, and little notes she had found in her mother's study.   But even then she knew, she did not like The Abbey and their over zealous ways of attempting to control her rule.  She had made a secondary decision, just as unpopular, to put a ration on whale oil.  She wanted desperately to stop the whales from being hunted, but Corvo and her advisors had all made it clear that if it was banned, it wouldn't stop the slaughtering.  
  
She approached a group of Aristocrats speaking in the corner.  They were all dressed in various shades of blue, one woman wearing a hat adorned with gems   
"Hello," She said, giving a curtsy  
"Why, Hello there Lady Emily" Marian Lesley said with a forced bow  
Marian had been one of the most prominent against all of Emily's decrees in the last few years.  She would constantly try to get them blocked, Emily had no reason to doubt that she was here for no  other reason than to stop the protest of the building destruction  
"Hello" Emily said with a forced smile, something she had excelled in since she was a child, her mother would often introduce her to some of the people at court or at special dinners when she was a child and had taught Emily the art of smiling and sounding polite when really you want nothing more than to walk away.    
"A very nice party you have here" Marian said, she spoke in a rather upscale posh voice, considering that she lived in the financial district, it was no surprise, But Emily knew Marian wasn't raised wealthy, she had come into her fortune only years prior, She still acted like old money though.  
"Thank you, We've spent a long time coming up with ideas for it," Emily said, craning her neck to see the door, Marcus was supposed to arrive soon.   
"You should have contacted my sister Elenor, She has been in the decorating business for years. Does the really fancy parties." She waved her gloved hand around "Would have made it a little less... drab"   
Emily nodded with a smile while struggling not to roll her eyes, She was saved by her father grabbing her arm gently "Lady Emily, a word please?" He said,  Emily smiled politely at Marian and gladly walked off with her father, he brought her to the other side of the room   
"We have a problem," He said  
"What?" Emily asked, "What's going on?"   
"There's an uninvited guest," Corvo said, directing Emily's attention to a table with a dark haired looking young man, appearing to be rather tipsy  
"Oh my god" Emily said "No, why is he here? I haven't seen him or spoke to him since before I found out about these.. these rumors!"   
"I don't know Emily, maybe you should go over and ask him why he's here," Her father said  
"No, I have a job tonight. Be The Empress, Just...just watch him" Emily said to her father, her voice hushed, the guests started to dance in a slow pace to beautiful piano music.   
"Shouldn't I be watching the door?" Corvo asked  
Emily touched his hand lightly “I’m not as concerned about the door as I am about someone seeing him!” She hissed  
Corvo chuckled “He’s got a mask on, at least, nobody can see his eyes.”  
Emily groaned “Why is it that the one night I need you to be over protective and paranoid, you’re completely chill?”  
“Emily, I am more concerned about the possible guests we may get tonight than I am about your little friend over there, why don’t YOU keep an eye on him, and I’ll watch the door”  
She let her shoulders drop  
“I have a partner here,”  She said, starting to feel like a petulant child in her attempts to protest her father’s assignment  
“Emily, he’s your friend,” Corvo said “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to mingle with some of the party guests, see if I can’t get any information from them, See if the rumors have leaked before the papers come out” He started to walk away  
“You think you will?”  
“I’ve done it before, Emily,” He said with a sly smile as he walked into the crowd.  
Emily sighed and pushed her way over to the long table, laid out with decadent deserts and food from all over the Isles, as well as a fine selection of spirits, Which her dark-eyed friend seemed to be taking a keen interest in  
“What are you doing?!” Emily whispered, grabbing his arm and steering him away from the table  
“I’m enjoying the party, Your majestry,” He said with a hiccup  
“Are you inebriated?!” Emily asked incredulously  
“Psh,” He said, waving his hand in the air as if to push away her words “Why would you think that?”  
“Because you just called me ‘Your majestry instead of your majesty!”  
“My majesty? I’m sorry” He said, hiccuping through each word “I must have misplaced it”  
Emily groaned “You’re coming upstairs with me, I do not have time to babysit you when Marcus arrives,"  She said, starting to steer him towards the staircase, she led him upstairs to her chambers and pushed him to the bed, where he sat there hiccuping  
“What am I doing up here?” he asked  
“I brought you up here, just five seconds ago, just how much did you DRINK?” Emily crossed into the private bathrooms and grabbed a glass of water, she handed it to him and he eyed it like a bomb  
“What am I supposed to do with that?”  
“Drink it” Emily placed it close to his lips and tilted it upwards, he choked on it and let it spill down the front of his shirt  
“Hey!” He shouted, “You got my shirt wet!”  
Emily rolled her eyes and placed the cup on her night table  
“YOU got your shirt wet,” She said, helping him unbutton it “I’ll just hang it over something, it’ll dry quickly” She winced as her fingernail got caught on one of the buttons "What are you doing here?"  She asked  
“Emily, do you remember when you took off my shirt before?”  
Emily tried to free her fingernail without ripping it or the button out, She ignored his question "You didn't answer me" she said "What are you doing here? I haven't spoken to you for days, what feels like weeks now.  And you just show up uninvited to my party?"    
"I thought I was due for a visit,"  He said with a smile  
"I wouldn't mind a private visit, but this is a delicate time.  Do you know there are rumors about me in Morley? Rumors that I'm some sort of harlot going off in the night to meet a man.  That we do heretical things together, worshipping The Outsider?"  Emily said, struggling to free herself from the button.  
He sat there, a blank expression on his face   
Emily shook him by the shoulders "Do you have any idea how this could affect the way my people view me?  The High Overseer is going to catch a fainting spell when he catches wind of this."   
"You didn't answer my question," The Outsider said, swaying a little to the left "Do you remember when you took my shirt off before?"   
Emily groaned "on the boat?"   
He nodded “I never told you about it but I was really hoping you were going to kiss me when you were doing that”  
Emily shook her head “Can you just let me focus on this button? I’m stuck here”  
“I kind of want you to kiss me now,” He said, ignoring her  
Emily sighed “You’re completely off your rocker, and you’re as full as a tick with spirits, you don’t mean that”  
He reached his hand out to touch her face, she flinched “Stop it” she pushed his hand away  
“I do mean it, Your Emily”  
“Majesty” Emily corrected  
Emily’s fingernail was dangerously close to tearing off her finger completely when suddenly Marcus came through the door  
"I uh... I'm sorry. I.. Astrid let me in, It seems like I'm interrupting something... I should go"   
Emily looked up in horror “No!” she said hastily “No, it’s not what it looks like!”  
Marcus looked as though he had eaten a sour tart “I had thought... that... No, I think it’s best that I leave”  He said, hurrying out of the room  
“Marcus, wait!” Emily said, ripping her fingernail in the attempt to free herself to catch up, leaving The Outsider collapsed on her bed, as the party continued on downstairs.  
  
  



	14. Emily Kaldwin's Last Party: Part Deux

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily and Marcus make an announcement, someone isn't happy. 
> 
> Part two of Emily's longest night, splitting up the chapters so it won't be so wordy and long. Next up, murder!

_Month of Wind_

_Dunwall Tower, night_

 

_Are those that leave us really gone?_

_Do not they simply pass through The Void?_

_Can they hear us speak when we look to the stars? -_

Excerpt from a longer work of poetry

 

Emily bolted out of her bedroom chambers and raced down the spiral staircase, seeing Marcus up ahead of her  
"Marcus!" She called out "Please, wait. It isn't what it looks like!"  
Marcus turned on his heel, causing a slight squeak on the marble floor.  
Emily was grateful that the music being played was loud enough to drown out her call, the last thing she would want is to draw attention to herself right now.  
"Then what is it? You and I made a plan!" He hissed, Emily grabbed his hand "Let's go somewhere else and talk about this, We wouldn't want to cause a scene and give even more ammunition to the papers" She argued  
Marcus sighed and nodded as Emily led him out the back to the gardens, It was a beautiful evening, the stars coming out in full force tonight as moonlight bathed the outdoor furniture in an eerie white light.  Emily made a mental note to come out here more often, She used to when she was younger, with her mother.  
"What was that up there?"  Marcus asked  
Emily shifted uncomfortably "A friend of mine"  
"A friend?"  
"Yes," Emily said  
"He better be a friend Emily, or people are not going to buy our marriage announcement"  
"He is just a friend, and I promise you it will not affect our plans, We go in there and we announce it, soon." She said, touching his shoulder "I thank you so much for helping me with this Marcus, not a lot of people would stage a marriage merely to keep rumors off"  
Marcus smiled "Well though I barely know you, Lady Emily, you seem very nice, I could only do my part, And it isn't as though you are not helping me with this as well."  
Bells sounded from inside the tower, Emily and Marcus looked at each other "I think it's time, they're expecting a speech. This is the perfect moment."  She said, Marcus, nodded "Let's get inside then"  
  
The pushed through the garden doors back into the tower, Corvo stood by the entrance out to the hall.  
As Emily entered the music lowered and then came to a halt completely, She spoke, her voice echoing off the walls  
"It is my pleasure to welcome you all to this wonderful event, this event was organized with the needy in mind" She walked to the center of the room, every eye on her, Marcus stood by in the crowd, waiting for her signal.  
  
"There is an orphanage south of this tower that is derelict and run down and members of various factions of the aristocracy that wish to turn this building into yet another place for the high society to convene in luxury.  I believe this is wrong, and this is why I am fighting it every step of the way."    
Her words were met with applause and cheer by the crowd, She smiled and continued on.  
"This event was held in honor of the fine lady and gentlemen here with us tonight, several heads of the committee involved with the opposing group, Those who wish to stop the others within the aristocracy from tearing the building down.  I have brought them to our special tower to show them that the people of Dunwall object to such a blatant and unnecessary lavish display as well"  
Many people applauded this, It was so loud that Emily almost felt the need to cup her hands over her ears.  She decided against this, as it would be rude.  
"Suffice it to say, a decision will be made the following start of the new month, Please make your voices heard, There are currently three members of the committee who are wary of this project, If enough people vote against it, they may be able to sway the rest of the committee." Emily said, she took a bow "That being said, please enjoy the festivities and..." She smiled widely "I have a very important announcement to make to the people of Dunwall"  
 She motioned for Marcus to step forward, each eye was on her, waiting for what she would say next  
"I would like to officially announce that I, Emily Drexel Lela Kaldwin the first, and Prince Marcus Edwards of Morley are to be joined in union" She grasped Marcus' hand and watched the crowd react.  Hushed whispers turned to cheers of excitement, many of them bowing as a form of congratulations  
"Thank you so very much!" Emily said, her smile wide, Her plan would work, the rumor mill would be dead by the time the news came out and her name would once again be safe.    
  
No one gets hurt, Emily thought  
  
Emily thought wrong, As she looked out to the crowd of cheering individuals, she spotted a man standing in the back alone, a man with pitch black hair and a shattered expression.  He saw Emily looking at him and he quickly rushed to the door on the opposite side of the room, leading out into a long hallway.  She felt her heart drop.  
Emily squeezed Marcus' hand and leaned in to whisper "There is a matter I must attend to" He nodded "Enjoy yourselves! I must retire for the evening! A lot of paperwork to go through!" She smiled and hurriedly headed towards Corvo, who was blocking the exit out into the hall.    
He smiled at her "Congratulations on your marriage, Lady Emily" Emily smirked "I overheard you talking in the halls, I thought Marcus and I would beat you to the announcement"  
"Emily," He said, looking down "I'm sorry I didn't include you, I felt we had to move fast to avoid incurring the Abbey's wrath, you've done a great job. This news will be spread all over the isles within the next few days and the rumors will be forgotten"  
"Yeah," Emily said, forcing a smile, Corvo sensed something was wrong, it was his special super power as a father.  
"Emily?"  
"I'm just tired, I'm going to head to bed for the night, Festivities end at midnight, Be sure to maintain civility in the tower," She said with a grin, he nodded "I'll do my best to keep it all civil and end it at the appropriate time.  You have a good night my young lady" Corvo placed his hand on her shoulder until his eye caught a woman trying to steal something off one of the tables "Excuse me, Miss."  He strolled off to stop the thief "You can't take that"  He said, his voice a little more stern this time.  
Marcus ran to Emily before she could leave out into the hall "I know that you spoke of a matter you must attend to, but we do need to discuss more this marriage" He said, "May I walk with you?"  
  
Emily nodded with an unease in the pit of her stomach, She needed to find The Outsider, but with Marcus standing here, it may not be the ideal situation.  
  
The pair walked out into the hall, strolling through the long dark of it "They shut off most of the lights through this way at night" Emily explained "Saves power"  Marcus laughed, it bounced off the walls "As if that helps with what's going on in the next room"  
Emily nodded "It's a severe problem, Whale oil powers everything in the city, and in this tower.  We go through an unbelievable number of tanks in a day, and I've tried before to put rations on whale oil, put a stop to whale hunting, It doesn't work."  She sadly kicked at the carpet "It either doesn't hold or it doesn't even pass through Parliament"  
Marcus nodded "I've faced similar troubles in Morley"  
The pair turned a corner, this hall was a little brighter and lined with old paintings of the former royalty that have dwelled in the tower.  
"Is whale hunting bad over there?" Emily inquired  
"It's a little better than it is here, but not by much.  I think we could learn a lot from Karnaca and the wind turbines.  But it's a lot of work that nobody wants to do."  
Emily nodded "I've tried to bright up wind power as an option in Dunwall and the people just will not have it, Too afraid of change, I think"  
"Of course" Marcus replied, "So moving back to our plans?"  
"Obviously you'll have to take up residency in Dunwall Tower," Emily said, Marcus, nodded "Where will I sleep?"  
"I'll put up a nice cot in my chambers, No need to arouse suspicion by having you sleep in guest chambers somewhere," Emily said with a smile  
"You make a good point, Lady Emily," He said with a bow "I can go make up the cot myself if you wouldn't mind?"  Emily smiled politely, she grasped his hand "Thank you for doing this for me"  
He leaned over and kissed her hand lightly, Emily almost flinched and pulled her hand away but Marcus didn't notice "And thank you for what you have done for me, My family won't disown me, I won't be living out on the streets, I don't know how I can ever thank you for agreeing to this, Emily"  
Emily shook her head "I would never dream of letting something so horrible happen to someone if I have the power to stop it, we've both gotten something out of this that will help us immensely, that's thanks enough."  
Marcus smiled and headed back towards the main hall and its spiraling staircase.  
  
Emily however, pressed on in the dark hall.  
  
  



	15. Lords, Ladies and Gods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily and her two companions must struggle to get away from Dunwall tower before it's too late.

"Stop hiding from me," Emily said out loud "I know... that you're here, Show yourself"   
The Outsider obliged, appearing in front of her, Emily immediately felt the chill in the air.  
"Empress," He said, his voice as cold as the air around him   
"I... need to explain," She said, reaching out for him, he pushed her hand away "No need," He said curtly "Your life is yours alone, yours to live. To make your own choices and... mistakes" He raised an eyebrow and began to pace in front of her, hands as always, clasped behind his back, Emily rolled her eyes "It's not a real marriage, you don't have to be jealous"  
"Empress, you are very self-centered," He said, still pacing  
"I'm self-centered?" Emily scoffed "How do you get that?"   
"You believe that everything revolves around you, that my world revolves around what you do"  
"Well, you did come when I called so...." Emily reached out and grabbed his wrist "I don't know why you are pretending you're not jealous, I know jealousy. I used to see it in my mother's eyes when she would look scornfully at the other women who would even dare to look at my father"   
"It is an emotion, and as all emotions. I am above it, It is not a concern."   
"Are you admitting you are jealous?"   
"I am admitting nothing, for that would be a lie"   
"Why haven't I seen you? This mess started BECAUSE of you, and you haven't even been around for me?"   
"I do not bend to your will, Empress. My existence does not revolve around your wants and needs"   
"You're contradicting yourself" Emily groaned "Either speak to me like an actual person or go away"  
"a prince in Morley. A little too fancy for you, Don't you think?" The Outsider grinned "I would think you would much prefer the rugged bad boy type, the dangerous ones. Not the quiet uptight aristocracy ones"   
"You could literally not be more jealous if you tried" Emily shook her head "Don't worry about Marcus...." She said, leaning into him, letting him smell her hair "You.... are the one that dwells deep within my soul" She whispered  
Emily felt him pull her into a tight embrace, pressing his lips to hers, gently at first, but then with increasingly more force, She felt as though she were sinking deep into him. The pair kissed deeply and passionately as their hands hungrily pulled at each other's clothes.   
Without pulling away from each other, articles of clothing belonging to the both of them dropped to the floor, The Outsider slammed Emily up against the wall.

Emily let out a slight moan, She grabbed The Outsider by his arms to pull him closer to her, The sensation of his cold skin against her hot skin was almost enough to send her over the edge when the pair heard a blood-curdling scream

He and Emily froze "What in the void?" she whispered "It sounds like someone is hurt, we should go check it out"   
The Outsider pulled away from her and nodded "It sounded like it was coming from around the corner"  
Emily followed behind him, both keeping low to the ground to stay relatively stealthy   
The scream sounded again, louder this time, Emily broke out into a run with The Outsider behind her "Wait! Emily!"   
Emily ran and turned the corner just as the woman who had been screaming dropped to the floor, her attacker jumping through the window to the left.

The shattered glass shards flying in all directions, The Outsider quickly pushed Emily to the floor, shielding her from the rain of glass. Emily shoved him away "I have to find Corvo! I have to tell the guards!" She said, struggling to stand   
"Outsider's Eyes!" a voice behind them said, Emily and The Outsider both spun around to face Marcus  
"Emily... what happened, what's..."   
Emily shook her head "I don't know! I heard the screams and by the time I got here... She was... already gone...."   
Marcus pushed past the two of them and leaned down "What about her attacker?"   
"I couldn't see whoever it was, he just... jumped out the window," Emily said, "Someone has to tell Corvo"  
"You're not telling the Lord Protector anything" Emily felt the cold tip of a blade against her back  
Emily turned around to face several guards and Litutantant Errol  
"Would you mind very much explaining what has happened here, Empress?" He asked  
"We... we heard a scream in the halls and..." Emily started  
"And can you and your friends here explain what you were doing out in an abandoned part of the castle?" Errol asked  
"I was leaving the party after my announcement"   
"I'm sorry to say this Lady Emily, but this looks extremely bad"   
Emily shook her head "No! You have to believe me, We turned the corner just as the attacker jumped out the window"   
Errol looked to his left, The window that had shattered moments before was perfectly intact "Empress Emily Kaldwin, You and your co-conspirators are officially under arrest by the order of the City Watch"   
Emily felt her heart sink into her stomach, No, she thought, not again!   
She grabbed Marcus' hand with her left, and The Outsider's hand with her right and slowly started backing away from Errol "I'm sorry Lieutenant Errol, I'm sorry"   
She started to run, her two companions running alongside her

* * * *   
Emily ran alongside The Outsider and Marcus, her breath starting to hitch in her throat, They turned down another hallway, which was pitch black.

The trio stopped "We have to hide" Marcus said "We have to find some place to hide"   
"My mother kept secret chambers, I remember hearing about it when I was younger," Emily said "There's a way to get in... but I never figured it out"  
"How is that going to help us now?" Marcus asked  
"Well" Emily began "Not very helpful, I'll admit that. But It's a start at least"   
"We're being chased by guards and need a place to hide, we can't exactly be dallying around here," Marcus said seriously  
"I know that" Emily hissed "Keep your voice down..."   
The three of them sat in silence for a couple of moments, trying to see if they could hear the sound of the guards and if their location had been discovered yet, everything sounded quiet. Emily wondered what was going on downstairs, where was her father?  
"If we can get to my father's office, we should be able to find the way to get to my mother's secret room, he knows how to get in, Maybe we'll even find him there" Emily decided   
"Where is your father's office?" Marcus asked  
"It's up on the next floor, we're going to have to sneak around to the secondary staircase, there are going to be some guards there," She said, motioning for the two to follow behind her "Just keep behind me"  
Emily led them back through the hall on their way to the staircase leading up to the second level, Emily silently thanked the void that there were many staircases to access the other levels of this tower, otherwise it would force them to use the grand staircase, and she would most definitely need to use her powers, something she was entirely unwilling to do around Marcus. They carefully traveled through the hall, coming upon a door leading to a round room that was filled with various display cases, some housed weapons, others housed sculptures, behind them was a wide brown staircase, Emily didn't see anyone, but that didn't mean anything.   
"There's no one here," Marcus said  
"They could be hiding" The Outsider pipped up, Emily looked at him "If they are hiding, how are we supposed to get past them?" He gave her an eyebrow raise, he knew she knew that the only way to find out for certain was to use her powers.   
If she were to use dark vision, she'd be able to find out if there were any guards hidden behind walls or in storage closets, but.... She gave the Outsider a helpless look he nodded at her and quietly moved back out into the hall  
"Ah!" He hissed, "I'm snagged on something"   
"Marcus, go help him," Emily said "I'll keep an eye out"   
Marcus shuffled quietly backward out into the hall, giving Emily enough time to use dark vision and see that the room wasn't empty.  
She quickly glanced over at the doorway, Marcus and The Outsider were still out in the hallway, Emily could hear Marcus speaking in hushed tones "What in the void is this jacket made of?"   
"Cloth" The Outsider responded, "Have you never seen a jacket before?"   
"No, ... I mean yes" Marcus shot back   
Emily took the chance and flexed her left hand and suddenly the world was slowed down to a crawl, This was a power she was only slightly comfortable with using, It was something that she had learned after Delilah's coup. She had heard Corvo speak of a power like this, the ability to slow time down, She took a deep breath and her formed changed into a shadow, tendrils for hands as she crawled fast, her shadowed body close to the ground as she headed for the guards, incapacitating them before they even had a chance to react, she carried the unconscious bodies and hid them away in a back room, her form changed back to that of an Empress, she almost keeled over. She remembered how painful it was the first time she had used Shadow Walk, it made her vomit.

She rushed back over to the doorway, crouching down and flexing her hand again, letting time resume to a normal pace. She shook off the effects of the energy draining power use and looked behind her "Guys" She hissed "It looks like the coast is clear!"   
"I can't unhook his stupid jacket from the wall!" Marcus whispered back "Emily, might you be a dear and come help?"   
Emily sighed and rolled her eyes as she crept back out in the hall "Go on Marcus, check to see if the coast is clear on the other side of the room and around the staircase"   
"Do you want me to check the next level?" He asked, Emily, nodded and watched Marcus sneak away, She heard a slight chuckle as she unhooked the part of his jacket he purposefully got caught on a hook near the door entrance "What are you laughing about?"   
"I am not, Emily."   
"I just heard you"  
"You must have heard wrong, I am a God, Do you not think I have much better things to do than laugh?"   
Emily gave him a look "Oh I am so not in the mood for this" She straightened up "We don't have to crouch anymore if there are no guards around" She checked around the corner and quickly traipsed back to the room "If you're such a god, why can't you help us out of this tower?"   
"I simply do not have the energy, I feel drained," The Outsider said, standing up to meet Emily's eyes  
"Is that possible?"   
"I am alive, am I not?"   
"Yes, you are very much alive. Dead boy" Emily pushed past him and quietly walked towards the staircase "Marcus" She hissed, no answer.   
The Outsider walked up behind her, though he made no effort to do it quietly, his boots echoing against the marble floor. "Does he not answer to your beck and call, Dearest Emily?" He teased  
"He can't hear me," Emily said "And I would appreciate if you could tone down the jealousy" She turned to face him as she quietly walked backward up the staircase and raised her eyebrow, almost daring him to speak another word  
He relented and followed her up the slightly creaking staircase. "I've never seen so much of Dunwall Tower" He looked around at the high ceilings and the beautiful but often times not functional or practical chandeliers hanging from them. "It's beautiful" Emily watched him, his expression filled with a child like a wonder she had never seen on him before "We're being hunted down by guards and you can't keep your eyes off the ceiling?"   
"I've never been anywhere this... extravagant" He admitted, lowering his gaze from the ceiling, Emily felt a pang of guilt as she remembered who he had once been, a beggar.   
She looked around "Where is he?" She asked nobody in particular, The Outsider closed his eyes "He's around the corner, trying to escape through a window" Emily's expression changed, her jaw set, her brow furrowed as she stormed around the corner, finding Marcus in the exact scenario that The Outsider had described to her "Excuse me!" She said, loud enough to get his attention but low enough for anyone in the distance to mistake for the sound of the wind blowing against the old building  
"Endless Void!" Marcus said, wrenching his leg back and toppling to the floor "You really shouldn't sneak up on people like that, you know?"   
"You were trying to escape?!" Emily asked, strolling over to him and grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, pulling him up and pushing him hard against the wall near the window "You we're going to bail on me?"   
Marcus hesitated "I... well, no..."   
"What kind of an idiot are you?!" Emily inquired, a question that she wasn't really looking for an answer to "Do you think you're going to survive out there on the streets long enough to make it out of Dunwall? We have no idea what's going on in the foyer, We have no idea where my father is, and we have no idea where the real killer went. But you think you're better off running from the tower?"  
"I think it's a little insane for us to be sneaking around the tower while the guards are looking for us!" Marcus hissed "We shouldn't be here"  
"I'm Empress, I was born to be here"   
"That may be so, but right now you're a suspect in a murder..."  
Emily pushed him harder "So are you! You don't get to get out of this that easily" She eased her grip on his shirt and let him slide down the wall "I know this tower like the back of my hand, I know the best way to avoid the guards and I know that most of the top level floors aren't heavily guarded, especially at night. Most of the guards are probably out of the order of the captain to find the killer, For all they know, we HAVE left the building"   
"I don't like this" Marcus said, standing and straightening up his tie and smoothing his shirt  
"You're going to have to deal with it," Emily said, shooting him a venomous glare "We are going to my father's office, we will find out how to get into my mother's safe room and we will get out of the tower"  
"Don't you have any other secret passages that are closer?" Marcus asked as he smoothed out his hair that Emily had messed up during their altercation  
"I do, I have my secret room, but we can't get past the guards downstairs to get to it, It's absolutely out of the question," Emily said, her hands on her hips as she felt the impatience coursing through her blood.  
"Are you in or out?" She asked the man in front of her  
"I'm in," Marcus said quiet but determined.


	16. Dust to Dust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio is still stuck in Dunwall tower, desperate to find a way out they've gone in search of Jessamine's secret chamber, they run into a friendly face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is a reference to a mission from Thief IV.

5th Day, Month of Wind

Dunwall Tower, upper floor

 

_It was a secret music that they heard,_

_The murmurous voice of pity and of peace,_

_And that which pierced the heart was but a word._

\- Excerpt from An Anthology of Modern Verse Volume Two

 

 

Emily, Marcus and The Outsider were carefully sneaking through the halls of Dunwall tower as the sounds of rain pattered against the high windows, They reached Corvo's office and Emily silently pushed the door shut, moving a chair closer to the doorknob in case a guard came up this way. 

"Where is my father?" Emily said and looked around the room "Does he even know what those guards did? I can't even imagine what they told him" 

The Outsider strolled over to Corvo's desk "Emily" He said without looking up at her "There's a letter here, it's for you" 

Emily whipped around, pushing past Marcus to grab the letter 

The Outsider and Marcus stood to the side while Emily's eyes scanned the parchment 

"What does it say?" Marcus asked

"I'll read it out" Emily said, clearing her throat

"Emily, something has happened, I don't have a lot of time but I came back here to write this for you, I know you are still in the castle and I know who you are with.  The three of you need to leave the city, I cannot convince them this is not true, There is no evidence to the contrary." Emily took a breath "I am leaving Dunwall tomorrow morning, I need to get to Morley as soon as I possibly can, I believe the killer was an assassin sent from Morley and I believe he was coming for you, Emily. I left you a duffel in the closet, It's full of the things you might need, The way to get to your mother's secret room; There is a false lamp on the wall in the east hall from here, move it and it will let you through the passage, Please be safe Emily, I love you and we will see each other again"

Emily put the letter down, The Outsider walked to her and placed his hand on her shoulder "We will get out of here, Emily, We will."

"It looks like we're headed to Morley" Marcus said 

Emily turned "How? We have no way of getting there" 

"I don't... know. We're going to have to  find some way to get there, My father is headed there"  Emily crossed behind Corvo's desk and looked through his papers "He's been doing some research" Emily said, motioning for Marcus and The Outsider to come look "Look at this" She said, holding up a piece of paper "Seems like he was planning to go to Morley for a long time, tonight was a little off schedule"

"He may have been forced to run" Marcus said, Emily frowned "You don't think they believe he's covering for me, do you?" 

"Anything is possible" 

Emily shook her head "No, I will not let these people make more accusations against me or my father"  She stood "Lets find this lamp, get to my mother's secret room and head to the streets"

"Tonight?" Marcus asked

"Yes" Emily responded, leading them out of the room and down the hall, East, East.... Why did every damn hall in this tower look the same? Emily thought, irritated.  The three of them had gone silent to avoid any unwanted attention, but Emily found herself getting lost

"This isn't east" Marcus offered in a helpful tone, though Emily could tell there was a hidden passive agressiveness behind his words.

"I know that" Emily groaned "These halls are a Void-forsaken maze" She shook her head "This is why I never come up to this part of the tower"

"I think I've found it," Emily said, peering around a corner "This is definitely east" She pulled back suddenly "All to the void!" She hissed  
Marcus and The Outsider leaned forward to peer around the corner "Broken glass?" Marcus asked  
"It means someone was here before us" Emily pressed her back against the wall  
"Maybe one of the staff knocked something over?"  
"Impossible," Emily said, "Nobody comes up here"  
"Obviously someone does" Marcus replied, retreating to the wall  
The Outsider took a deep breath "Will you two stop bickering? We're trying to find something here, not win a contest on who can be more petulant"  
Marcus eyed him as you would eye a man eating a full-size lemon "Excuse me? What makes you think you can speak to me that way? I am royalty!"  
He used the wall to help push himself up, Stepping towards the Outsider, Emily rolled her eyes "Marcus"  
He scoffed "No, Lady Emily, I have been dealing with his remarks all night and I am sick of it"  
"Please, Marcus…" Emily stood, getting ready to put herself between the two  
"Don't worry, Emily" Marcus said "I'm not going to fight him"  
Emily breathed a sigh of relief  
"I'm going to knock him out" Marcus lunged at The Outsider, Emily tripped and fell back to the wall  
"Ouch!" She groaned, grasping her head and rising to her feet, watching Marcus throw punches towards the air  
"Stop it!" Emily said, pushing herself forward and grabbing Marcus by the wrist  
"You knock it off right now!"  
"Your friend here has been at it with me all night, I'm tired of his little quips" Marcus spat in the direction of The Outsider  
"What a big word for such a prince" The Outsider scoffed, crossing his arms  
"Let me knock him out, I swear by the Void I will!"  
Emily twisted his wrist tighter "No, leave him alone. Apologize."  
"I won't apologize to that"  
Emily twisted harder  
"Ow! By the hairy arse of a goat, Fine!" She released him from her grasp "Now shake hands" Emily directed the two men, they both eyed her and she put her hands on her hips "Shake hands, that is a direct order from the Empress of The Isles"  
The Outsider stepped forward and extended his hand, Marcus reluctantly took it with his left, not taking his eyes off of the Outsider  
"What's his name, anyway?" Marcus asked, breaking the contact and looking at Emily  
Emily froze  
"O… Oliver" She stuttered  
Marcus snorted and Emily flashed a dangerous look at him "Knock it off" She hissed  
"Now let's get out of here, find my mother's hideout and leave the damn tower already. Which we would have already done if it wasn't for you two bickering the entire time" Emily huffed  
Before they could move, they heard a noise, glass.  
Emily pressed her finger to her lip and motioned for the two to stay against the wall, she pulled the dagger Corvo had stashed in her bag, which she had slung over her back and grasped it tightly in her hand, she leaned to peer down the hall, what she saw was a woman leaning over the glass, carefully and gently sweeping it up with her hand onto a dustpan, Emily knew that woman.  
"Cecelia?" Emily said, dropping all pretense of a whisper  
The woman looked up, her eyes wide as she dropped the dust pan and froze "Emily?!"  
Emily smiled and rushed towards the woman "Cecelia!" She threw her arms around her and hugged her tightly "What are you doing here?" Emily asked, breaking away from the hug  
Cecelia bit her lip nervously "I… uh… Well, don't get mad. But I've sort of been living here."  
"Living here, in the tower?"  
"No.. Uh just right here," Cecelia said, waving her hand around the hallway "This floor is abandoned and… I've been staying here."  
Emily looked around "Guys you can come out now, She's a friend"  
Marcus and The Outsider stepped out from their hiding spot and approached "Who is this, Emily?"  
"This is Cecelia," Emily said, smiling "a friend from the bad old days of the rat plague"  
Cecelia eyed Emily's friends "Who are you friends, Lady Emily?"  
Emily shook her head and clasped Ceceila by the shoulders "No you don't have to be formal with me Cecily" Cecelia smiled slightly at Emily  
"These are my friends, Marcus and…"  
"Oliver" The Outsider reminded her with an incredulous eyebrow raise, Emily thought he sounded almost affronted that she would forget the fake name she blurted out before.  
"What are you three doing up here?"  
Emily sighed heavily "You don't know?" Cecilia shook her head "There's been…a murder in the tower"  
"A murder?" Cecilia gasped "What's happened?"  
"We don't know, all we saw was someone dressed in all black and we didn't even get a good look at them before they jumped out the window"  
"Where was this?" Cecelia asked  
"It was on the ground floor, Marcus and I had just left the party going on downstairs"  
"Party?" Cecelia asked "I thought I heard something going on"  
"Yes, it was a special event for… something that doesn't matter now."  
"What do you mean?"  
Emily slumped against the wall "We… The guards came up and saw us by the body and they thought we were responsible… We're kind of hiding out, trying to get out of the tower"  
Cecelia gasped "They accused the Empress of being a killer? Isn't that treason?" Emily shook her head "I don't… I don't know, Everything is a whirlwind right now"  
"Where is Corvo?" Cecelia asked  
"He's gone" Emily said "I don't know, he left a note saying he didn't believe the guards but that he was headed to Morley on some kind of official business"  
"Well, what are you going to do?" Cecelia asked, a crease appearing in her brow, She looked almost the same as she had seventeen years prior, Emily thought as she looked at the woman, her hair still as red as she remembered it all those years ago.  
"The only thing we can do" Marcus interjected "We're going to get out of here and head down to the docks"  
Emily pushed herself off the wall and looked out the window, it was caked in dust, she wiped a small section of the dust away with her finger "We're on the way to find my mother's secret chambers, It has a couple passages that could get us out of here"  
"Oh, you're leaving?" She asked, looking down  
"Cecily, we're fugitives, We have no choice," Emily said, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder  
"I'll come with you," She said, suddenly, Emily cocked her head in confusion "No it's just, I know my way around the streets…"  
Emily chuckled "So do I, Cecily" She crossed back to the wall "Why would you want to come with us? We're going on the run…"  
Cecilia's cheeks turned a bit red, she looked towards the floor, She was still as nervous as ever, Emily thought, remembering the servant girl at the Hound Pits Pub  
"Because I… yearn for something more than simply hiding as a stowaway in a place where nobody knows I exist, I lived that life before… I don't want to go back to that."  
Marcus frowned "I don't think it's wise to give up your freedom."  
Cecelia's gaze turned to him "But that' the thing, you see… I've never been free, I've always been a servant to someone else, Even as I hide away here I'm not free, I'm just waiting for the day someone finds me up here and I get in trouble, It's not a life of glamour, I want something new, I want to go somewhere I've never seen!" She grasped Emily's hands "Take me with you, Lady Emily, Please! I'm as quiet as a mouse, you'll never know I'm there"  
Emily smiled "Alright Cecily, we'll take you with us to Morley"  
Marcus shook his head "I don't think this is wise at all"  
"One could say the same about you if one was blunt" The Outsider chimed in  
Emily flashed him a warning look, he shrunk back  
"So…" Emily said, "Where do you stay up here?"  
Cecelia bent over and finished sweeping up the glass on the floor "There's a room back there, I assume it was meant as a storage room but I turned it into a little living space" She motioned for the trio to follow her, she led them to a door near the back of the hall, This part of the tower had been abandoned for so long, Emily wasn't sure they had even built other rooms for it, she was certain the room she just stepped into was possibly the first one ever built  
Not only was every inch of the room coated with dust, but dirt and rust as well  
"It's not much," Cecieila said "But it's been my home for the past several weeks"  
"You've been here for weeks?" Emily asked  
"Yeah, I… came in off the street after there was some trouble…" She said, shifting uncomfortably as she brushed off dust from one of the chairs she had "Dust collects on these fast" She smiled half-heartedly  
"What trouble?" Marcus asked  
"There was just some trouble" Cecilia repeated, Emily noticed her eyes drawn to The Outsider, She noticed Emily looking and she looked away.  
"Do you have anything to take?" Marcus asked, sitting in the chair Cecilia had just dusted  
"Not really" She answered, she crossed over to what Emily could only assume was a makeshift bed, a pillow, a blanket and something that served as the support for the body, It looked like bits of worn cloth. "All I really have is my jacket, I have a hat" She pulled said hat out from under her pillow, Emily recognized it as the hat she had worn back at the pub, it was in excellent condition, given the years.  
"So," Cecelia said, shoving the hat over her bright red hair "Should we get going? What are we looking for?"  
Marcus rose from his chair "We're looking for a lamp switch, it's on the wall and it's supposed to open some sort of secret passage"  
Cecilia's eyes lit up "Follow me, I know exactly where it is!" She rushed off excitedly, Emily, Marcus and the Outsider behind her.

 


	17. Escape from Dunwall Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ceceila helps the trio find a way out of Dunwall Tower, Emily and Marcus argue about the safest method of escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The conversation Emily overhears the guards having is a reference to Thief IV. 
> 
> ________
> 
> Assuming Ceceila was 25 during the rat plague, she would be 45 years old. Don't worry, an explanation of her youthful looks is coming later on.

5th day, Month of Wind  
Dunwall Tower, Upper floor

 _He who hath the sacred fire_  
_Hidden in his heart of hearts,_  
_It shall burn him clean and pure,_  
_Make him conquer, make endure._  
\- Excerpt from a longer work of fiction

  
"Should we be letting her tag along?" Marcus asked as the trio followed Cecelia through the dark hallways of the upper floor in Dunwall Tower  
"Look, I'm not really that comfortable with pulling someone else into this, but she does know her way around the slums of Dunwall, she'll be able to get us to the harbor without anyone spotting us"  
"So can anyone else!" Marcus hissed "You had to get out of Dunwall before, did you not, Majesty? Do you not retain knowledge of that?"  
Emily scoffed "Of course I do... sometimes, those memories haunt my dreams, two years ago wasn't all fun and games, stealth moves and a vacation to Karnaca, despite what the papers might have told you in Morley"  
Marcus looked taken aback "Excuse me?"  
Emily turned her nose upward and walked ahead of Marcus, The Outsider followed suit, walking alongside her in silence for a while until Emily couldn't stand it anymore  
"I suppose you're going to lecture me about all this, huh?"  
"I wouldn't dare dream of it, Lady Emily," He said, a hint of mocking in his tone, she gave him a look and saw a playful smile curling at his lips  
She rolled her eyes "What is it with you and the jealousy today?"  
"Jealousy? Why Lady Emily, I have no knowledge of what you speak" He gently placed his hand over his heart, as if he was physically pained by her accusation  
She grabbed his wrist, a little more forceful than intended, He recoiled. "You know exactly what I'm talking about, Don't be cute with me, you've been jealous of Marcus since the moment you saw him"  
"Perhaps it is simply because the moment I saw him was when you were announcing your marriage to him"  
Emily let go of his hand and fell silent as they continued to follow Cecelia, who they had seemingly lost sight of as she had rushed ahead of the trio.  
"You know it's just a ruse, right?" Emily said "It's just because of the rumors in the paper, that I am fraternizing with someone"  
"Oh," The Outsider said, Emily had trouble reading his expression as she always did "That's what this is?"  
Emily groaned "Come on" She touched his arm "Don't be difficult right now, everything is falling apart as it is... I don't need this from you"  
"Would you prefer I lecture you?"  
"I would prefer if you left me alone" Emily admitted "I can't... focus with you here, the bickering, the jealousy... This isn't like you"

"Obviously it is like him" Marcus chimed in from behind her "Maybe you don't know him as well as you think you do"  
Emily scoffed "Marcus, I don't need anything from you either, the two of you can just shut your mouths"  
They turned a corner, finding Cecelia standing at the far end of a second hall "Over here!" She called out  
Emily approached with Marcus and The Outsider behind her "Here" Cecelia said "This dumbwaiter leads to the floor beneath us right next to the hallway with the lamp switch"  
"How do you know all this?"  
"I like hidden passages, when I was a girl, I always tried to find any hidden secrets where ever I was, it broke up the monotony of living in such a depressing and small home"  
She brushed her fingers through her hair while speaking  
"So the first thing I did when I came here was search the upper levels for secret passages, there are a lot of them." She turned to the dumbwaiter and replaced her hat on her head "So, who is going first?"  
Emily stepped forward and kneeled down to the dumbwaiter "I might as well, I'll head down there first, open the passage and you three can meet me in my mother's secret chambers"  
She looked around at the three of them and nodded, she stepped over the threshold "It's a bit of a tight fit" she said, feeling a little claustrophobic as she pressed her arms tighter to her side "I'll let the rope go down now" Cecelia said, slowly starting to lower the dumbwaiter  
"I have a question," Marcus asked, "Who is going to lower the last one of us down?"  
Cecelia stopped lowering the dumbwaiter on Emily's request as she crouched there in one of the most uncomfortable positions she'd ever been in, her eyes caught the Outsiders who gave her a tiny nod "I know how to work it so it can lower on its own" He said "It's simple, I'll work the ropes and then get in"  
"What if you get stuck?" Emily asked, playing along with his story.  
"I won't get stuck, I know what I am doing" He responded

"Alright," Emily said "Sounds good enough to me" She looked to  
Cecelia "Lower me down, Cecily"

Emily felt her joints tightening with every moment she was cooped up in the dumbwaiter until finally it was lowered completely, she crawled out and snuck to peer around the wall "Good, nothing there" she said to herself and stood, she carefully walked around the half hallway and saw the false lamp on the wall across from her.

She was about to make a beeline for it when she heard two or more guards talking in the hall. "It's been hours, we haven't found a damn clue as to where they could be," one of the guards said, a heavy sigh in his tone, Emily pressed herself against the wall, occasionally trying to lean over and see if the two were going to move  
"Have you ever considered they aren't even here anymore? They could have left the castle"  
"Of course they could have, and I overheard the captain saying they'd spread out and search the grounds, but we are still stuck in the castle"  
"We'll split up and look for them"  
"Split up? Easy for you to say, you've got the only torch!"  
"I get the torch because I don't cheat at Nancy, fair is fair"  
"Are you still mad about that? I was beating you, I don't cheat. I just know the right moves to make"  
"Oh really? does the Outsider guide you?"  
"Shut up"  
the two finally walked off in two opposite directions, Emily breathed a deep sigh of relief and snuck closer to the lamp switch. She pulled it and it revealed a secret passageway underneath a nearby fireplace. Emily crouched down and entered her mother's private study.

She had never been in the room before, but she knew it existed even when she was a child, her mother had always come here when she wanted to get away from the duties of the throne, Something her and Emily had in common, she looked around the room, It was larger than it used to be, Corvo had the room extended several years after the rat plague. The room contained several stacks of books on the floor, bookshelves, a circular ornately decorated carpet, and a resting couch pushed back against the wall.

Light from the moon outside was filtering into the room from the high window on the opposite wall. Emily heard a noise and whipped around, She quickly relaxed as she saw it was only Marcus, He crouched underneath the fireplace and stood in the room, looking around "Nice place you got here" he said  
Emily chuckled "It's a bit of a mess, Delilah's doing, most likely... But I have no idea why father wouldn't have cleaned it up since then"  
Marcus sat down on the couch, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath  
"Where are the others?" Emily asked, walking the couch and sitting beside him  
"They are coming, Cecelia was making us stop every five seconds, She's a little paranoid"  
"I think that might be a good thing," Emily said, looking towards the window, the moonlight was bright in her eyes.

"I saw guards on the way in here," She said "Well, I heard them, they have them searching the grounds, I have no idea how we're going to get to the docks without being seen"  
"You've done it before," Marcus said  
Emily flinched "I suppose I have"  
They sat in silence for a while "I'm sorry, by the way," Marcus said suddenly "I've been bickering the whole time... I just..."  
Emily waved away his apology with her hand "It's totally fine, I understand, You were put into this situation and... I should be the one apologizing, if it wasn't for me you wouldn't even be here"  
Marcus shook his head and took her hand "No, Lady Emily, There is no blame on either of us for this, No one could have seen this coming" Emily nodded "I suppose you're right, I'm just getting a little tired of surprises in the tower"  
She stopped talking as she heard Cecilia and the Outsider crouching down and entering the room, Cecilia stood and brushed the dust off her clothes, Emily redirected her gaze to the Outsider, who was struggling to get dust out of his hair, She stood and approached him "Here" She said "let me help" He gave her a look  
"I have a lot of experience crouching in weird places and getting dust in my hair, I know how to get it out"  
She brushed her fingers through his hair gently "Plus we have the same hair color"  
Marcus looked around the room awkwardly at anything but Emily and the Outsider, Cecelia was brushing dust off of some of the books stacked precariously against the wall  
"We're all of these books your mothers?"  
Emily looked towards her "Yes, my mother collected books, she loved to read"  
"Oh," Cecelia said, picking up a leather bound book and blowing the dust off from the front "This one... This one is about the occult..." she opened it and flipped through the pages slowly, Marcus stood and crossed to her to look over her shoulder at the pages "The Outsider?" He said, stopping Cecelia's page flipping and looking towards Emily  
"Emily did your mother... "  
Emily removed her fingers from The Outsider's hair and turned to Marcus, her arms crossed "Did she what? Worship the Outsider?"  
Marcus coughed "Well... Yeah, I guess that's what I'm asking"  
Emily scoffed "No!" She sat down on the couch in a huff, still crossing her arms  
"It's just that... her having this book, isn't that a bit heretical?"  
"Are you the Abbey?" Emily shot at him  
Cecelia closed the book and carefully set it back on the floor, freeing dust that had collected on the carpet  
"This is not a discussion we should be having," Cecelia said  
"Oh it's apparently a discussion Marcus wants to have," Emily said, glaring at him  
He put his hands up in the air "I was just asking..."  
"The mere fact that you bring up her mother in such a fashion is disrespectful," The Outsider said, stepping over the carpet and standing right in front of Marcus "Apologize to her"  
Marcus backed up and gave him a look "Or what?"  
"There is no alternative, simply apologize"  
Marcus rolled his eyes "Sorry, your majesty" He said, sarcasm heavy in his tone. Emily rolled her eyes as well and pushed off the couch "Let's just go..." She said, pushing past Marcus and searching for a secret lock or lever to open access to the passages.

She found one of Anton's locks in the middle of a door across the room, she approached and pressed her signet ring to the impression.  
"Found it," she said, opening the door "Let's get out of here, there are two passages according to my father's letter, one that leads straight to my safe room and another that leads directly outdoors"  
They filtered through the door, a staircase ahead of them breaking off into two directions "Can't we get through to the outside from your safe room?" Marcus asked  
"Yes" Emily answered, walking up the stairs slowly "But they might have stationed guards near the doors in case they think we're still in the tower"  
"But wouldn't they have guards outdoors?"  
"Of course they would, but Corvo's letter says the second exit comes out inside of another building" Emily pulled out the letter from her bag and read through it once more "I brought a map" The Outsider said, pulling it out from his jacket's interior pocket, Emily took it, looking over it in the small stairwell while Marcus and Cecelia stood cramped against the wall "So according to Corvo in the second part of his letter, there is an old tavern, this secret passage connects the two of them."  
She folded the map and letter and replaced them into her bag.  
"As long as we'll be safe," Cecelia said  
"We might be underground for a while," Emily said "The tavern looks far away, It's further than The Black Pony pub"  
"But isn't that right near the docks?" Marcus asked  
"It doesn't matter," Emily said, "We'll just double back from where we end up, It's safer anyway"  
"It's inconvenient," Marcus said, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall "I just don't understand why we can't take the safe room passage, you said there's a way out through there that leads to the rooftops"  
Emily groaned "I don't think it's safe, that's why we're not going that way"  
Cecelia gently coughed "I'm sorry to disagree with you Lady Emily" she said, "But I agree with Marcus, it's a lot easier to get to the docks from the rooftops, We have no idea how far away this pub is or how long we would be underground, we might faint!" She said  
Emily groaned "Fine, Marcus, Cecily, you can go from the rooftops to the docks, hide out at the black pony pub, Me and...."  
"Oliver" The Outsider reminded her again  
"Right, Oliver and I will head underground and to the abandoned old tavern, We'll meet at Black Pony and then...figure out what to do from there"  
"Split up?" Marcus said, "Is that wise?"  
"We'll find out," Emily said, taking a deep breath and unlocking the door for the safe room "Be safe" Emily said, reaching to take her bag off her shoulder, she took a pistol out of it and handed it to Marcus "Use it only if you need to"  
"I don't know how to use a gun," he said, his eyes wide "I've never..."  
"You might not need to use it at all," She said "It's just in case" He nodded  
Cecelia and he turned to enter the safe room, the door shutting automatically behind them. Emily looked at the Outsider  
"I guess we're headed underground" She crouched down and pressed her signet ring to the hidden lock "We'll have to crawl through here for a while"  
"Crawling?" The Outsider said "I'll get even more dust in my hair"  
"Don't worry" Emily said, "I'll help you" She smiled and placed her hand on his shoulder


	18. How They Rise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cecelia and Marcus get out of the tower, but how long must they camp out on the rooftops before they can get to the docks?

Marcus and Cecelia were startled by the door shutting behind them, they were in Emily's safe room. Cecelia looked around "This place is crazy," She said, spinning around, she rushed over to a wall and brushed her fingers against it, Marcus started to look around for gear "We've got to take anything we might need, I think... sleep darts"

He grasped a few in his hand and looked at Cecelia "Can you find a pack or a bag or something in here?"

Cecelia snapped out of her reverie "Huh?"

"Bag, we're going to need a bag to carry things"

He looked over the small bed and drawings taped to the wall "These drawings" He said, looking over them, Cecelia came over to his side, she was holding a bag in one hand and a dagger in the other "I found a carrier and a knife. If we need it"  
"We might," Marcus said, taking the bag and placing the sleep darts inside "Crossbow?"   
Cecelia shrugged "I didn't see one" She turned her attention to the taped drawings "I remember these drawings," she said, a little smile appearing on her face "Emily drew these...I even saw her drawing some of them back at the Pub"   
"The Hounds?" Marcus asked, eying the drawings   
"Yes" Cecelia looked down "I can't believe how long ago this all was"  
"Unpleasant memories, I can assume"  
"I was more than invisible there, I worked for the loyalists, kept the pub clean, Emily and I actually talked a lot when she was there"

"You worked for them?" Marcus asked, stories about the loyalist conspiracy and times during the rat plague had been told over the years, but many of the details were fuzzy at best  
"Yes," Cecelia said "I don't much like talking about this, We should head out"  
"I agree," Marcus said, Cecelia grabbed the bag and headed towards the table, it had old newspapers laying on top of each other "What is this?" Marcus said behind her "This drawing...." Cecelia turned and saw Marcus holding a drawing that depicted a man, Her eyes widened and she was thankful at that moment that Marcus could not see her expression  
"This looks like Oliver," Marcus said aloud, tracing his finger over the image "How could she have this?"   
"Well you know what they say," Cecelia said, taking the drawing and placing it back on the table "Everyone has a twin"   
Marcus shrugged "I guess..." He looked bewildered "Let's get out of here" He turned towards the locked door on the other side of the safe room, Behind him, Ceceila folded the drawing and placed it in her pocket.

  
"This lock takes a key, like Emily's signet ring..." He frowned "Did she not remember the inner door?"  
Cecelia stood by him "I guess not, but someone did" She grabbed a ring from the table, sitting next to the pile of newspapers "Corvo" Marcus said "He must have known we'd find our way here" Cecelia nodded as Marcus took the ring and pressed it to the lock, the door opened, loud sounds of metal shifting, the two walked out into a drafty hallway lined with old and dusty things, a glass display case filled with what looked like old trinkets, Cecelia wanted to stop and look at them but Marcus was rushing ahead to get to the door to the roof "Don't stall behind" He said "The faster we get out of here, the better we'll fair"

"Sorry," Cecelia said, trying to keep up the pace with Marcus when they reached the door, she nearly rammed right into him, He opened the door and they stepped out onto the roof. It was a sort of balcony that was fenced off from the rest of the lower roof.

From here, they had the vantage point of tons of the other rooftops of various buildings that lined this neighborhood. From the left side, they could see part of the harbor.

They were headed to a building closest to the docks, it used to be a pub, then it was a black market spot for a while, the name remained the same but the shop and pub had gone out of business in the last few years. Marcus lifted a spyglass to his eye, he saw several in uniform men and women, illuminated by the light of street lamps

"They've got guards everywhere" He informed Cecelia "We should get further down, there's a staircase and we could sneak down to the docks... Just stay low and hide behind stuff" She said  
Marcus nodded "I really think we ought to wait a little bit though, from here I can see at least five of them"

"We'll wait, but it's already dark," Cecelia said

"Yes, and the darkness is a good cover," Marcus said, placing his spyglass in the pack he had slung over one arm

"I know that," Cecelia said defensively "I simply mean there are too many guards down there right now and we risk getting spotted"  
"Fine" Marcus said "We'll wait here for a little bit, I'll keep watch for now and I'll let you know if they move"

Cecelia sat down on the cold stone as Marcus leaned against the edge of the fence. He sighed deeply and looked out at the rooftops of Dunwall.

 

 


	19. The Gifted Owl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily and the Outsider stay the night at a hidden pub before they head out to further their investigation.

6th day, Month of Wind  
The Gifted Owl

_"I saw then what I had not seen before. I saw the stoop of his shoulders, the lines on his face -- like a map of a country I had once traveled. I hoped these marks of age reflected wisdom, but I feared they were mere tokens, purchased with a lack of sleep and the kind of artificial goodwill that's squeezed from a map in the public eye like oil from a rag"_

\- Excerpt from a longer work of fiction

  
Emily and The Outsider were crouched down and making their way through a tunnel leading out of the tower. They had been here for what felt to Emily like several days.

"How long did it take them to build this damn thing?" She said, her voice echoing in the enclosed space.

"You would get more done if you would stop complaining" The Outsider offered helpfully

Emily did not find it helpful.

They continued to push forward, Emily wasn't exactly certain where the tunnel led out.

"I hope the exit to this tunnel isn't over a cliff or something," She said, looking back to make sure the Outsider was following her.

"If it is, you can simply use your powers" He reminded her, Emily turned her attention back to crawling "I don't want to get used to it" She admitted "We're going to meet back up with Cecelia and Marcus soon enough, if I get used to it, I might accidentally use my powers in front of them"

"A point well made" He responded "Emily, there's something I wish to discuss"

"Now?" Emily said incredulously "This isn't really the time"

"In front of our friends isn't the time either"

"Fine, fair point"

"I have been jealous." He admitted "It is a feeling I do not know well in...this sense" He trailed off for a minute, Emily thought he was finished speaking though she supposed he may just be uncomfortable with the subject so she had decided not to press the issue and just kept crawling in hopes of finding the exit

"It is a new feeling, Jealousy in romance, romance itself is a new feeling."

He sounds so sad, Emily thought, staying quiet out of fear she would say the wrong thing

"Do you remember what I had said to you last year? About wanting to be alive? Be human?"

"Yes" Emily responded

"I want that even more now, do you have any idea how painful it was for me to return to the Void after what I had experienced as a mortal?"

Emily had no idea how to respond, how could she possibly say anything to make four thousand years of pain go away?

"I would do anything.. Emily... Anything, to be free of this"

"Don't speak that way" Emily said gently

"It is a hopeless and meaningless existence, Emily. The only light I have had has been you and when I saw you at the tower with Marcus I thought that I had lost you, my light."

Emily stopped and turned her head as much as the low ceiling would allow her

"You have not" She reassured him "Marcus was an alibi, a fake marriage to ward off rumors in the papers. He had come to me informing me of Morley's news printers coming up with stories of me unwed and fraternizing with an Outsider worshipper" She explained, "I'm... sorry I didn't explain it fully before now..."

Emily turned back, starting to crawl forward again when he responded

"It is simply a rouse?"

"Yes"

"Nothing more?"

"Do you think there could be anyone else for me?" Emily asked him

"What did the papers say?" The Outsider asked

"They simply reported that a witness saw me making out with someone, You. But they don't know who 'you' is."

"When did they see this?" He asked

"I have no idea, Corvo was over his head when he heard about it. They could have been spying on us at any time"

Suddenly she felt herself being pushed forward as the floor beneath her dipped down "I'm slipping!" She called out to the Outsider and started sliding downwards

"Emily!" He called out "Take my hand"

Emily struggled to grasp his hand before slipping completely. She was falling through the air at breakneck speed and was certain this would be how she died, suddenly images of her trip to the Void at Aramis Stilton's house flashed through her mind. She thought she was going to crash right into the ground beneath her but she suddenly felt herself slowing down and gently landing on the muddy banks behind Dunwall Tower.

Emily looked up to see the Outsider smiling "Don't go falling from the tower, Empress" He said, offering his hand to help her up

"How did you-" She began

"You forget that you're not the only one here with powers" He shook his head and chuckled

Emily took his hand and pulled herself to her feet, brushing off dirt and dust from her shirt and jacket. She looked around at her surroundings "We're behind Dunwall Tower. if we can get... around this" She indicated the small rocky outcroppings all around the tower "We should be able to find a way back up and to the docks"

The Outsider shrugged and brushed dirt out of his jet black hair "I was under the impression we'd end up in a tavern"

Emily nodded "Maybe the tavern is gone?" She mused "They could have torn it down years ago and the passage would remain"

"It is possible," He said "Let us get out of this mud" He helped Emily find her footing and they stepped around the mud.

They were on one of the small patches of sand before the water, it wasn't enough to be a beach, but it wasn't so little that they would be standing in water.

"How are we going to get around this and back up towards the docks?" Emily said

"Em," He said "I don't think it's going to be a problem"

"Huh?" Emily said, He pointed towards an overhanging cliff to their right, Emily's eyes traveled downwards to the building located underneath it "It's the tavern!" Emily grabbed the Outsider's hand and exhaled in disbelief.

"What a weird place to build a tavern..." The Outsider said "I thought it was by the docks"

Emily shrugged "Maybe it once was" she slowly and carefully led him towards the tavern "The map must have been old and outdated"

As they carefully walked forward, Emily nearly slipped on the slick mud, but the Outsider caught her in his arms "Emily" He said with a smile "You have got to be more careful"

"It's slippery," She said, righting herself.

"From all the times you have fallen in my presence, one would think you are simply falling for me"

Emily rolled her eyes "Let's just go inside"

"Wait" he said "There is something else Emily... Something that I wish to discuss with you"  
  
"Can it wait until we're dry?" Emily said

"I..." The Outsider began "Yes, I suppose it can" 

As they entered the tavern an unexpected scene played before Emily's eyes, the tavern was brightly lit, lights they did not see from the outside and filled with people talking, laughing and drinking joyously, the sound was another thing Emily and The Outsider had been unable to perceive from the outside of the establishment.

A portly looking man stepped in front of the door to greet them "Ah! Hello young lads" He said loudly and with a large grin on his face

"Welcome to The Gifted Owl!" He looked them over "Why! You're Empress Kaldwin, are you not!?" He asked

Emily nodded reluctantly "Hey everyone!" the man shouted, "We've got royalty in here tonight!" Some of the tavern patrons cheered and raised their glasses

"Come, come, get out of those gross looking jackets, take a load off! Only the finest for Kaldwins and any friends of the Kaldwins"

He took Emily by the hand before she knew what was happening and led her and the Outsider to a booth at the back of the room "Away from the crowd!" He said with a smile as Emily took a seat, the Outsider seating himself across from her.

"Oh how rude I've been!" the man said suddenly, smacking himself against the forehead "The name is Mac Thámhais" He sat next to the Outsider in the booth "What brings the Empress to our lowly establishment?"

Emily took a breath, this was the first chance he had given either of them to speak since they came in.

"There's been a bit of a....Well"

The Outsider placed his hand on hers across the table "Empress Kaldwin has been accused of the most heinous crime of murder, She has fled the tower"

Mac gasped "By the Outsider!" He shook his head "How can they possibly accuse you of such a thing?!"

Emily closed her eyes and sighed "I was just simply in the wrong place... at the wrong time"

"Well, that sounds no good! That should be treason to even suggest such a thing! You're welcome to lie low here for a while if need be, Lady Emily"

Emily shook her head "No I... We're headed out of Gristol"

"Not tonight you ain't!" Mac said "You deserve a rest! You and your uh, friend here can stay in our rooms"

"You have rooms?" The Outsider asked

Mac roared with laughter and slapped his hand down on the table "Ha! You hear this guy? We have rooms! Of course, we have rooms!" He slapped the Outsider on the back, causing his complexion to change to an even offer shade of white.

"Of course," Emily said politely "Of course we'll stay in your rooms for the night" The Outsider gave her a look at this, she stifled a groan  
"That's great Lady Emily, you know your mother is the reason this place even exists."

Emily sat up a little straighter at the mention of her mother "My mother?"  
"Yep," Mac said, leaning back in the booth and waving his hand up to get the attention of one of the serving waiters, a short brunette girl came over "Hey I'll have a tankard of ale, the good stuff... And my friends here will have...." He looked to Emily and The Outsider to complete his sentence

The Outsider shrugs "I don't drink" He said simply, Emily snorted, remembering the scene hours prior at the party.  
"I'll have a root beer," Emily said with a smile, the waitress smiled back politely "I'll have that right out for you" She bowed and walked to the back  
There were times when Emily felt a little uncomfortable about her privileged status as Empress, this was one of those times, aside from that, it was going to be very difficult for her to stay on the down low with the most recognizable face in the Isles.

"Ah," Mac said "Nothing like a good time with good drinks good company!" He slammed his hands against the table, startling both Emily, and The Outsider.

The waitress came back to the table and set their drinks down "That'll be 7 copper" she said  
Emily reached into one of her inside pockets, She always had spare change on her without ever remembering where it came from "Here you go" She handed it over to the waitress with a polite smile.

"So the plan, whats the plan?" Mac said, taking a deep sip out of his mug "A plan for what?" The Outsider asked

"Well for you and the Empress there, you find yourself in a pretty tough place. What are you going to do?"

Emily took a sip of her drink before answering "You can understand if we're a little wary sharing too much information about our plans right now"

Mac nodded "Ah, yes of course! Well I just want you ta' know you can trust me, I was an old friend of your mothers" He took another sip of his beverage

Emily raised her eyebrows "You mentioned my mother was the reason this place exists?"

Mac smiled, it had a rather odd effect on his wide face "You mother and I were close friends when she was alive" His expression turned wistful "She was a good woman, she helped me when I was alone, broke and... well, broken. Your mom put me back together again"

Emily smiled at this, she only knew her mother for a short time but she knew that her mother had been very kind and cared for the Empire and its people beyond what was expected of her

"I miss her every day, but what am I saying? I'm so sorry!" He said, his face turning an embarrassed shade of red.

Emily smiled and shook her head "No, I love hearing people talk about my mother, hearing stories of her is what keeps her memory alive"

"Well I've talked your ears off too much, You two oughta get some rest, I'll show you upstairs"  
Mac pushed himself up and out of the booth, Emily and The Outsider followed him up the rather worn wooden staircase to a long hallway with doors on each side "Rooms are often empty here, not a lot of people stay the night," He said, a chuckle following his words, The Outsider peaked over at Emily and raised his eyebrows, she shook her head.  
"You two sleep together, right?"

The Outsider gulped "W-what?" he asked

Mac gave him a look "Good Lord boy, that's about the first time I heard you talk all night!" he put his large hand on the Outsider's shoulder. Emily smiled "He's... uh, shy" She nodded

"Ah! I understand, But I wanna hear how you two met tomorrow! How does one land himself an Empress I wanna know!"

Emily stifled a laugh "Thank you for everything Mac, we'll head to sleep now"

Mac nodded, heading back towards the staircase and turning back "Not gonna be much rest in there though is there!?" He said, roaring with laughter as he headed downstairs

"What is he talking about?" The Outsider said, standing in the doorway and crossing his arms

Emily put her hand gently on his arm "I have no idea"

 


	20. As Night Falls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Outsider shares a secret with Emily. News of his nightmares are bewildering to Emily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter because I'm going to update Where Once We Walked, my Jessamine fic that has interesting tie-ins to this fic! So if you want to read both, chapter one is up and chapter two is on the way! 
> 
> Connected with DOTO but I'm keeping it vague enough to not spoil anyone for that game, but it is connected.

The upstairs of The Gifted Owl creaked at night, the creaking was enough to keep Emily from falling asleep, the outsider was asleep beside her. She glared at his sleeping form and shook her head, swinging her feet off the edge of the bed and crossing the room to the window. It overlooked the water, Emily didn't often get seasick but staring at it moving so brashly in the moonlight, she felt like she was back on the Dreadful Wale.  
"No" She heard from the bed, she turned towards the Outsider but he was still asleep  
"NO!" a scream this time  
Emily looked around "Hello?" She said aloud  
The Outsider woke suddenly, bolting upright, his black eyes shimmering in the moonlight coming in from the window, the glimmer he had used to make his eyes look normal around other people had faded.  
"What...the...fuck," He said, breathing heavy  
Emily sat down on the bed and put her arm around his neck  
"What happened?"  
"It was..." He began "Do you remember before we came in... I had said I wanted to speak to you about something?"  
"Yes"  
"I've been having nightmares."  
"Nightmares?" Emily asked "What?"  
"They started before your announcement with Marcus..."  
"What are they about?"  
He shook his head "I don't. I don't even know - They aren't like normal dreams or even normal nightmares, I only get flashes of... images. I'm on a ship, a tiny room... Karnaca"  
"Karnaca? We're nowhere near Karnaca" Emily said, rubbing her hand against his shoulder  
"No, no I know but... in my dreams, Shinderay Peak... I'm there, I'm there but I'm not, I'm on a ship but I am not."  
"What are you talking about?"  
He shook his head "I don't know, just... probably left over from the dream."  
Emily looked at him, bewildered by what he was saying, there was no way anyone in this room was sleeping that night.  
Emily crossed over to the window again, she thought about what the Outsider said, Shindaerey Peak was the tallest mountain in Karnaca, she remembered it from her time there during the Coup and from her previous adventure there. But Emily had never been there directly.  
"Have you ever been to Shindaerey?" She asked him without looking over  
"I remember it. But I don't know why" He admitted "There's something strange going on, Emily. After you received that letter from the main from Morley, That's when I started having these nightmares, these memories... They feel like memories..."  
"That letter? You mean the one man who talked about mist.. or.. fog or something?"  
"Yes, that one. The weirdest thing is that I was having dreams in the void..."  
He suddenly screamed in pain, grabbing his head "Oh my god, I'm not here, I'm not here!" He screamed  
Emily rushed over to him and grabbed his hands, trying to calm him "Please, calm down, breath. What are you saying?"  
He looked up at her, and to Emily's horror his eyes were flickering between a deep black and the eyes of a normal man  
"I can hear his voice in my ear," He said quietly "And I see her" He slumped over, unconscious.


	21. As The Light Shines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marcus and Cece sneak through the streets of Dunwall to get to the pub and figure out their next move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for all the slow boring chapters, I promise action is coming soon! I wanted to have a chapter set up so that these two could be more fleshed out as characters and have a little more backbone to them.

6th day, Month of Wind

Dunwall Rooftops

_"And when we need it_

_a hymn plays out through the stars_

_and when we own them_

_the stars sing no more"_

\- excerpt from a book of poetry

  
Cecelia and Marcus sat outside Dunwall tower on the roof, they would stay there through the night as it was much too dangerous to head down when it was so dark.  
Marcus noticed Cecelia staring up at the stars "Are you alright?"  He asked  
"You've been a little quiet through all of this.. are you sure you want to go through with this? We're fugitives, running with us makes you a fugitive too"  
Cecelia gave him a small glance before returning to stare up at the various constellations  
"Do you see that? Up there? It's called the Horses rucksack" Cecelia laughed "My younger brother and I would always hang out on the balcony of our old apartment and make up new names for the constellations and he named that one the horse's rucksack"  
"Because it looks..."  
"Like a horse wearing a rucksack"  Cecelia confirmed  
"You have a brother?" Marcus asked, keeping the conversation going would at least stave off boredom through the night's wait.  
Cecelia sadly looked down and picked at the sleeves of her jacket "I used to"  
Marcus felt himself feeling with regret at even asking the question "Oh... I..."  
"he died, he was killed. My childhood wasn't the best and... we didn't have much and he couldn't take it and ran away and..  would hang out with the thugs that lived in our old neighborhood. He always left me notes, leading me to him in strange alleys, he wanted me to run away too... he thought we could find a better life somewhere else but...  I couldn't do that to my mother" She picked at her sleeves some more while speaking, her voice low "Eventually he just... ran into the wrong type of people and didn't make it out alive."  She trailed off  
"I'm really sorry to hear that"  
"Don't be" She said "It's been years, I miss him every day... but he lives on in my memory, in my heart. he isn't gone for me."  
Marcus simply offered her a sad smile. He didn't know what else to say and the silence dawned over them once more.  
  
When the morning came Cecelia and Marcus woke to birds crowding on the edges of the balcony.  An omen if there ever was one to be.  
"That doesn't seem like a good thing," Marcus said, his voice hoarse with sleepiness as he shielded his eyes from the dull morning sun.  This high up, even Dunwall's sun was blinding.  
"So what's the plan?" Cece asked as she placed her hat back on top of her head "Climb down unsteady pipes?"  
"There's no staircase," Marcus said with a frown as he looked over the edge "Not a lot we can do..."  
"You don't look like much of a building scaler," She said with a little smile  
Marcus chuckled "My privileged aristocratic life didn't really give me much of an opportunity" He looked down  
"You don't need to feel uncomfortable around me because of what family you were born into.  I know you're not like the others, I can tell"  
Marcus looked up at her "Really?"  
"Yeah" she nodded "Others turned their noses up at me, not even just aristocrats but... anyone, During the rat plague at the pub... Nobody knew I was there.  I felt like a ghost"  
"Well you don't have to feel that way anymore, you're not a ghost."  
Cece smiled and took his hand in hers "We should find a way down"  
"Let's figure out how to climb down here without falling to our death," Marcus said, peering over the edge again.  
  
It took them a while, longer than Emily would have taken doing the same thing, but they finally managed to get to the street level without too many injuries, though there was a moment when Cece thought she would slip off the roof entirely, that is until Marcus caught her.  
The pair made a great team, sneaking behind guard outposts and low walls, avoiding the morning search party and making their way to the docks.  
Cecelia peaked out from behind one of the low walls they were crouching behind "There are some guards here" she informed Marcus who was about to lean out when she grabbed his arm to stop him.  
"No," She said sternly "They might see you."  
"You're leaning out!" He hissed, trying to keep his voice as quiet as possible  
"I've always been like a ghost, strangely enough.  Nobody sees me when I don't want them to" Cecelia said  
They stayed there, quiet as death so as to avoid the guards hearing them.   They were far enough away that it wasn't likely, but Cecelia wanted to stay on the safe side.   Soon, the guards were out of her vision and she leaned back against the wall "They are gone" she said  
"We have to get across to the Black Pony Pub," Marcus said "It's... over there behind us.  But I don't know how we're going to get there without being spotted, there's nothing to duck behind up that way"  
"Don't worry about it" Cecelia said "Just take my hand"  
"We should have done this at night" Marcus huffed "It would have been much easier to sneak around here in the cover of darkness."  
"Yes," Cecelia said "That might be the case, but we might also have died falling off the rooftops"  
"Fair point"  
"Take my hand, I can sneak us over there to the pub."  
"You expect us to walk out of here in broad daylight without being seen? The guards may have moved but there are still civilians around."  
"Civilians that don't know anything about what we look like."  
"I'm wearing royal Morley threads!" Marcus said, a twinge of annoyance in his voice "They're going to know something is up, and it's probably been put in all the papers by now that the Empress is on the run with her partner in crime, a Morley prince"  
"Yes, fair point, they might recognize you.  But I'm here with you, and they won't.  Trust me."  
Marcus relented "Fine, but if we go to prison...."  
"We won't," Cecelia said, her words were like a promise and Marcus couldn't help but believe that with her, it would be okay.  
  
  



	22. Imprisoned We Are Free

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mysterious nightmares, tavern patrons behaving unnaturally and a boat theft. Things start heating up for Emily when she and the Outsider get caught between a rock and a hard place.

 

It had been hours since the Outsider woke from his nightmare, daylight flooded in through the cracks in the window and Emily lay on the bed with her eyes wide open.  
She didn't sleep last night, she couldn't with the Outsider beside her, mumbling. There were moments when she thought she could almost make out what he was saying but it mostly sounded like gibberish.  
  
He didn't remember any of it. Or he was pretending not to as Emily found out when they got out of bed  
  
"So," Emily said, pulling her hair back into a tight knot on her head "Do you want to talk about last night?" She asked, a delicate tone in her voice, she didn't want to push him to talk about something that was uncomfortable.  
  
"Last night?" He asked eyebrow raised as he paused lacing up his boot to look at her.  
  
"You... you had like this nightmare or something, and you kept talking about how you're not supposed to be here or..."  
  
He turned his attention back to his boots "I don't remember. Perhaps it was one of your dreams."  
  
Emily made a face and slumped beside him on the bed, placing her hand gently on his shoulder. "You really don't remember anything?"  
  
He shook his head "I would not lie to you, Emily." He said reassuringly, he got up to grab his jacket off the chair by the window "What's the plan?"  
  
Emily took a deep breath "Well" She began "We have to get to the docks... which are on the other side of the tower area. It's... not going to be easy. Maybe Marcus was right"  
"Marcus is a great many things, that is not one of them" The Outsider quipped, brushing dust off his jacket  
  
"What is your problem with him?"  
  
"I do not have a problem with him, Emily."  
  
"You've been hostile toward him since the moment you knew about him"  
  
"I have no memory of that." He walked to the window to avoid her gaze, staring out over the water "I am not hostile, I am not jealous, I do not have nightmares. You know that I do not concern myself with such human emotion"  
  
Emily scoffed and crossed her arms "As if last year never happened"  
  
"Last year I was merely inhabiting a construct of a human, it was a rouse and was only because I could not manifest normally, My connection to the Void was weak. I can assure you there was no difference between that and this."  
  
"No difference?" Emily shot back, starting to feel a rush of anger.  
  
It was one thing when he wouldn't talk about his nightmare with her, but for him to erase all of what she had seen of his humanity, to pretend none of it happened or that it did not matter to him.  
  
"So you've always been and always will be a cold merciless God?" She said as she approached the window. "You've always been a man of no means, other than this... whatever this game is"  
  
"Game?" He asked without turning around  
  
"You know what I'm talking about!" She said, raising her voice a little and dropping her arms to her side "This has all just been a game to you! All of it, all these years you've just been biding your time waiting for the next fool to come around so you can have your fun with them."  
  
He didn't respond.  
  
"Daud... you marked Daud. Tell me right now that you didn't see him killing my mother. Tell me you didn't see that!" Her voice wasn't the only thing shaking at that moment "Delilah... you marked her and she tried to take everything from me. Not once, but twice... And you have Daud try to stop her? Why? Why play these games?"  
"Why assume these are games, Emily? I would think you more than anyone else would understand there are deeper meanings to the things people do."  
"Don't try to group yourself in with people, you're nothing like them, You're not even human. You don't feel right, you don't look right. You have to have a fake name, you have to use that Void glimmer or whatever so people don't see your real eyes. Nothing about you is human."  
  
"It would be wise, Emily, if you would perhaps... remember times in your life when you have misspoken."  
  
"Are you telling me to shut up?"  
  
He whirled around, an angry expression on his face "I have done nothing but help you and Corvo for years at great personal risk to myself. I asked Daud to stop Delilah because he wanted the redemption."  
  
"It didn't work," She said, seething  
  
"I marked Daud and Delilah and Vera at moments when they were not what you have seen them as. They were people once, Emily. There is more to the world than you see from your pristine throne. Have you already forgotten?"  
  
He paced around the space in front of her, giving her flashbacks of their first meeting in the Void  
"How many times do you need to go through this? How many times do you need to be deposed, to have everything taken from you before you learn anything?" He stopped pacing, his eyes staring at the floor "I had everything taken from me, Emily, ripped away.... I never had a chance."  
Emily shook her head "I'm not going to stand here and let you speak to me that way... I know what happened to you, I can't change that. No one can"  
A silence fell between them and Emily felt a sudden tremor beneath her feet, it felt like the world around her was being torn into pieces like an old letter, the sensation left as quickly as it came on. Emily shuddered.  
  
"You don't know everything." He said, acting as though he was unaware of what had just happened around him  
"Neither do you"  
  
"I know more than most"  
  
"Fine, you know all and you're the best God there ever was. Can we get to the part where we figure out how to meet with the others?"  
"I never asked for this." He said, "I never wanted this!" Before Emily could respond he stormed out of the room.  
  


  
"That was amazing," Marcus said, "How did you do that?"  
  
Cecelia shrugged as they were crouching near the back entrance of the Black Pony Pub, formerly a pub that had been used for a black market shop during the Coup of Delilah Copperspoon, now it was completely abandoned even by the black market sellers. Though signs of gang activity were littered around the back entrance.  
"I've always been like a ghost, sometimes people just don't...see me."  
  
"There's a difference between not having much of a commanding presence and being able to sneak past a bunch of guards in broad daylight without any of them being the wiser!" Marcus said, "I knocked into a paint can back there next to one of the guards, he didn't even turn around!"  
  
Cece merely smiled "Shall we head inside and wait for the others?" She pulled on the door handle, it wouldn't budge "I think it's locked"  
"Oh," Marcus said "I have a way to fix that" He pulled out a lockpick from his pocket "I uh, I keep these with me."  
  
"You keep lockpicks with you?"  
  
"You never know when you might need a lockpick"  
  
"You're rich, what would you need to be picking locks for?" Cecelia asked as he bent down on his knee to get a better look at the locking mechanism, he focused on the door while she stood to the side  
  
"Sometimes," Marcus said, holding one lockpick in his mouth while inspecting further "The rich aren't complete because of their money. I wasn't, I never was"  
  
"You aren't happy?"  
  
"Why would I be happy?" He asked her, not taking his eyes off the lock, he started to jiggle one of the picks inside the lock "I'm pressured by my parents to find someone to marry, I'm pressured to take over the family legacy and fortune."  
  
"But nobody ever asked if you wanted any of this" Cece said  
  
"Exactly, they don't even care. We go through this life with what we have, and that's all we have. Everyone looks at me like I'm a terrible person, like I'm the reason they are living in the streets, and I want to help them. But my parents don't care."  
  
"For what it's worth, there's one person out there that doesn't think of you that way. I never had it in for the rich, except maybe the Boyle's"  
  
"Waverly and her sisters?" Marcus asked, Cece, nodded "Absolutely terrible people, I've met them all and I wish I hadn't"  
  
Cecelia and Marcus shared a laugh as Marcus heard a click inside the lock "I got it!"  
  
"What are we going to do in here anyway?" Cece asked as they entered the old pub, Marcus carefully shutting the door behind them.  
  
"I assume just wait for Emily and Oliver" He swept dust-up from one of the wooden tables with his finger. "Might as well take a seat" He said, pulling the overturned chair up and resting upon it.  
  
Ceceila opted for sitting on the counter of the bar instead, her feet swinging over the side "This place reminds me of the old Hound Pitts" her voice was almost wistful.  
"What was the rat plague like?" Marcus asked, resting his arms on the table and looking up at her  
  
"It was terrifying, having to stay hole up at the Pub... with the loyalists..." She shook her head "Not that any of them were loyal. I was lucky to make it out of there alive when they decided to start clearing house."  
  
"Do you know if anyone else survived?"  
  
"I know Callista did, Piero Joplin... Obviously, Anton Sokolov, I don't know where Callista and Anton are anymore, but Piero had passed on a long while ago."  
"I'm sorry, were you two very close?" Marcus asked, tracing his finger in the dust on the table again  
  
"I had a crush on him back in the day, but... It never became anything after we survived the plague" She shrugged "It feels like so much of that time was just missed opportunities. For everyone."  
  
"There are always more opportunities to have the life you wish for Cecelia," Marcus said gently "What do you... like?"  
  
"I don't know, I've never been interested in the arts, and politics makes me fall asleep. It doesn't seem like I'm good at anything"  
  
Marcus stood from his chair, brushing the dust from his trousers and making his way to the bar, hoisting himself up to sit beside Cecelia "I don't think that's true Cece" He said with a chuckle "I mean you just snuck past those guards out there in a way anyone else would deem impossible"  
  
"Oh, well I guess I did" She looked at Marcus, giving him a soft smile.  
  
  
Emily rushed down the stairs of The Gifted Owl to find the bar empty and no sign of the Outsider anywhere, she looked around. There were signs of a struggle, chairs were knocked askew and glasses shattered on the floor.  
  
"Emily!" the Outsider hissed from underneath a table  
  
"What the?" Emily rushed over to him "What happened?"  
  
"There is something going on out there," The Outsider said, his words punctuated by the sounds of screaming from outside the tavern  
"About upstairs... the fight we just-"  
  
"Now is really not the time to discuss this, Emily"  
  
"Fine," She said "I'm going to check if I can see anything from the windows" She steeled herself and got up from underneath the table. walking over to the window to see the inhabitants of the tavern fighting.  
  
"They're fighting," Emily said, looking back at the table where the Outsider was hiding "What happened?"  
  
"When I came down here they all seemed.. different, their eyes were... It's likely some kind of magic."  
  
"Magic, like..." Emily said, lifting up her marked hand  
  
"Not quite..." He said, coming out from under the table and straightening himself up "There is... there are other forms of magic and... not all of them are as controlled as your mark there, There are people who can siphon power from the Void itself... Like Delilah, but worse"  
  
"Worse than Delilah?" Emily said "I didn't think that was possible"  
  
He nodded "Delilah simply found the right place to harness its dark energy, but... There are deeper secrets in the Void, secrets even I don't know"  
  
"How is that possible that you don't know?" Emily looked at him while the sounds of fighting continued outside  
  
The Outsider took a deep breath and looked down "There is a time and place to speak of that, but it is not here, nor now"  
  
"You have a point, we should get out of here... We have to find Marcus and Cece and leave Dunwall before..."  
  
Emily and the Outsider were suddenly thrown back with quite a force as the door was smashed in and several large guards appeared in the doorway  
  
"We've been combing the city up and down for you and here you are in your own backyard," a man said, stepping into the small tavern, Emily tried to get to her feet but was unable to get very far as the guard started to advance on her

"Take them both away"  
  
"No!" Emily shouted "You have it all wrong! We're not murderers!"  
  
"Tell that to the guards at Coldridge," He said, laughing as he grabbed her by the arm  
  
Guards advanced on the Outsider, Emily was being dragged away and watched in horror as he was cornered "Why aren't you leaving?!" She shouted as the guards pulled her away  
  
"I can't!" He said, his face horror-stricken "There's something wrong Emily! I can't go back!" He called after her  
  
Emily was pulled out of the tavern by the guards before she could say anything more.  
  
The journey back to land was a dangerous and slippery one, Emily was being held by two guards as they lead her back up to the tower "Alert the other guards" The admiral said "I'm taking her to Coldridge myself"  
  
"You can't do this!" Emily said horrified "This is treason!"  
  
"Empress or not, you are a murderer and we cannot just look the other way, you have blood on your hands Kaldwin, You're going away for that!" each word laced with venom and hatred, Emily was floored. This was one of her own...  
  
She thought she had done away with the guards who turned away from her during Delilah's reign, she thought she could trust the city watch, She wondered how many of her people hated her.    She could have screamed and struggled, she could have used her powers to escape, but she simply stood there, letting her own guard lead her off to the horror of Coldridge for a murder she didn't commit.  
  
Like father, like daughter. Emily thought bitterly.  
  


  
There was a ruckus outside the Pub that made Marcus and Cece bolt to the windows "Guards are running from their posts" Marcus said, "What's going on out there?"  
Cece shook her head "I have no idea, but whatever it is can't be good. We have to get out of here."  
  
"But what about Emily and Oliver?"  
  
"They are probably already on the way out of Dunwall by now, maybe they just missed us... or forgot us." She shifted uncomfortably  
  
"What?" Marcus said looking at Cece "You don't really think Emily would leave us behind like that do you?"  
  
"I'm not saying it's on purpose, people just simply... forget I'm there... and you, well Emily doesn't even really know you"  
  
Marcus thought on this a moment and slowly nodded "You know what? You're right, We're in danger the longer we stay here... we should head to the docks and find a boat out of here."  
  
"There's only two docked out there," Cece said, looking out the opposite window that faced the sea "One is small, maybe too small for two people."  
  
"Well if the guards are leaving their posts," Marcus said, approaching the door "Nobody is going to notice if we borrow one of the boats. I say we take a look" He pushed the door open and he and Cecelia both headed to the docks.  
  
There were two boats out there, one of them was smaller than a skiff and the other looked sturdy enough to survive a long trip as well as hold both he and Cecelia "That one" Marcus said "We'll take that one"  
  
"Do you know how to drive a skiff?" She asked  
  
"I've never done it, but I've seen it done before. It shouldn't be too hard to pick it up"  
  
"Well, let's not stay here any longer to chat about it," She said  
  
He stepped over the docks into the skiff "You coming?" He said with a smile  
  
"It's just... I've never stolen a boat before" Ceceila said uncomfortably, twiddling her thumbs in a nervous manner.  
  
"We'll give it back," Marcus said with a chuckle "I promise" She took a step forward and he took her hand to help her into the skiff.  
  
"Where are we going?"  
  
"Morley."  
  
"Morley?" Cecelia asked "That's... really far"  
  
"It shouldn't take that long, this boat looks like it could get some speed if we don't catch any storms on the way over there. Morley isn't as far as Tyvia, so you should be grateful."  
  
"I don't know if one should feel grateful to be a fugitive," Ceceila said  
  
Marcus shook his head "Of course not, but it's something to do" Cecelia responded with a laugh, as nervous as it was.  
  
"Let's get out of here" Marcus looked over the controls and pushed the lever that pushed the skiff forward "Now I just have to figure out how to steer this thing"  
The water whizzed past them as the skiff roared to life at rather surprising breakneck speeds. Marcus was a little worried that they'd both be thrown from the boat into the river and the end of his legacy would be drowning after stealing a boat.  
  
He pushed the thought out of his mind  
  
"Do you really think Emily left us behind?"  
  
"Well, I... I don't think she would do it on purpose, but... She was really scared, Maybe she thought we could take care of ourselves and just left"  
"Wonder if she left Oliver behind"  
  
"It seems likely Oliver and she are together" Cecelia shouted over the sound of the skiff's engine and the water rushing past them.  
"Hopefully they found their way away from the trouble," Marcus said, focusing on the water "And hopefully we are too"  
  
The sound of the engine was deafening, and the trip would take ages, But Marcus was feeling confident in their ability to get there in one piece.

He thought of Emily and Oliver again with a twinge of guilt.

 

 

 


	23. In Medias Res

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily and Oliver are thrown in prison as Marcus and Cecelia escape Dunwall but find problems of their own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of contains allusions to The Peeress and the Price comic, nothing too spoilery though but if you want to avoid anything about it before reading it, I'd suggest skipping this chapter until you do. 
> 
> Archibald Wainwright is the sort of antagonist for the Peeress and the Price comic book that came out last month, though his story is one of objecting to Emily's rule, the "Free Dunwall Movement" is a creation of my own.
> 
> Allusions to DOTO spoilers, non lethal ending.

The sounds of metal on metal broke into Emily's unconscious mind, causing her to start to wake, drowsy at first but slowly becoming more aware of her surroundings.  
"Foods here" a voice she didn't recognize said "Not as good as the stuff you eat up at the tower, Empress"  She rose from the bed that was barely distinguishable from the floor and approached the food tray.  Without warning, the guard pulled the collar of her uniform against the bars "I think you oughta know, you ain't gonna be put up for much longer for Dunwall."  
  
Emily struggled against his grip on her "Let go of me!"

"Hey now, you don't get special treatment because you eat from silver plates. Not anymore"  
  
"I've been in much worse places than Coldridge, I'm not a spoiled brat, now let me go!"  
  
The grip loosened a little bit as the guard pulled her closer "Hey, keep it down, will you? This has to look realistic"

Emily blinked in confusion, not sure she heard him right.  Was this a dream?

"I can help you, but you have to stop yelling," he said in a voice barely above a whisper while he looked around, "Half of your city thinks you are unfit to be Empress... This has been going on for a while"  
  
"What?" Emily said, startled as he let his grip on her go, she backed away from the bars "What are you talking about?"  
  
"There's a movement out there, it's been... underground since the Coup on the crown but it's starting to make it's way to the surface, they want to be heard.  The Free Dunwall Movement.  I caught wind of them on my patrols.  Some of the people in Dunwall want you out"  
  
"You expect me to believe there's been a movement against me for two years that I haven't known about?"  
  
"I don't expect you to believe anything, I'm just informing you of what I know, and what I've heard.  You remember Archibald Wainwright?"  
  
Emily groaned, thinking back to the man who had formed his own sort of movement after Delilah's coup, teaching people that the ruler of the crown should be elected and not simply given the crown because of their blood royalty  
  
"I'll take that as a yes, Well these people were inspired by Wainwright's actions back in the day and they sort of... existed alongside his movement, he wanted nothing to do with them, pretended he didn't notice them because they were going against his so-called belief system"  
  
"But that's exactly what he wanted!" Emily said "He campaigned for my removal from the crown, Free Dunwall sounds exactly like what he stood for"  
  
"He publicly spoke against them, said they were treasonous, but he supported them through back channels. Gave em' coin and places to stay."  
  
"Why are you telling me all this?" Emily asked, crossing her arms and still not fully believing what she was hearing  
  
"I don't believe what they are saying and I'm here to help you."

"Then why in the isles did you grab me?!"  
  
"Keep it down prisoner!" He said as another guard on patrol strolled past him.   
  
As soon as the other guard left the man at Emily's cell motioned for her to come forward again, she did so reluctantly.  
  
"Like I said, it's gotta look realistic.  Can't be seen getting chummy with the prisoners. It's not a good look." He said sheepishly "Sorry about that"  
  
"I guess I can let it slide... If you're telling the truth...." Emily said with a shrug "You said you can help me?"  
  
"I can, but not right now. I'm on duty.  I'll come back to your cell after hours." He started to walk away  
  
"Wait!" Emily shouted, "What about the Free Dunwall movement?"  
  
"I'll tell you all about it, later" He hissed "My name is Roscoe by the way," He said before heading out of the hallway, leaving Emily all alone in a cell, her head spinning with questions.  
  
  
"What are you?" a big burly man poked the Outsider's nose. 

They had him tied to an uncomfortable chair and two men had been questioning him since they brought him here; Questioning in their vocabulary meant something more akin to poking, prodding and beating the answers out of him.  
  
"Why did you help the Empress commit murder?"  
  
"She didn't kill anyone," He said stiffly  
  
"Well, of course, you ain't gonna say nothing close to the truth" he chuckled "Probably getting a good bit of coin to keep your little mouth shut huh?"  
  
"Maybe he'd be a bit more friendly if we shared our names." the other man, equally as beefy stepped to his buddies side "I'm Lud, and this here who's been doing the questioning most of the night is Tork"  
  
"Those are the stupidest names I've ever heard," The Outsider said, struggling against the binds holding his wrists and arms.  
  
"Hey!" Lud said "That's not very nice"  
  
Tork glared at him "Idiot, he's just trying to get a rise out of you."  
  
"Hey!" Lud said again "THAT isn't very nice" Tork rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the Outsider "I've seen you before," he said, eyeing him up and down "I  
recognize your face.  You must be a wanted thug"  
  
"I, unlike you." the Outsider said  
  
Lud scratched his chin for a moment before scrunching up his face "He's calling us thugs, Tork"  
  
Tork turned away from the Outsider and smacked Lud right across the face "Yes, I am well aware of that.  Now shut it, you're breaking my concentration."  
  
"I don't see the point of this, he ain't giving us any answers to the questions"  
  
"No worries," Tork said "We just have to beat him harder. Until he forgets what it feels like to be able to walk"  
  
Tork, as the Outsider found out rather quickly, was a man of his word. He punched, pulled and even bit anything he could in the guise of trying to get answers, but even though the pain the Outsider suspected Tork just enjoyed the process of torture.  
Tork stopped beating him after what felt like several very painful hours but was more likely to be a few minutes "What is your name?"  
  
_Name_  
  
The word echoed in his mind, flashes burning before his eyes. Like a waking memory.  He was here tied to this chair being beat by Tork but he was also somewhere else watching two people make a decision.  
What did they decide? He struggled to hold onto the vision, to the memory, but the images slipped away like liquid.  
"Hey!" Tork shouted, breaking him out of his reverie "You ignoring my question or something?" He slapped him hard across the face, nearly knocking the chair back.  
The Outsider sat there, desperately wishing he could pull back to the Void at this moment, but for some reason or another he wasn't able to.  When he would corporealize in the mortal world there was usually a tug pulling him back to the Void, he would always be able to feel it and reach it.  
  
But it wasn't here anymore, or at least it was so very faint that he could barely sense it.  What did this mean?  
  
Flickers in his mind again, an arm, an eye.  
  
And a name.  
  
_Billie Lurk._  
  
How long had it been since they left Dunwall? Marcus felt as sick as Cecelia looked. The sea was not a friend to either of them and the trip to Morley was too long for such a small skiff.  There was barely any room to breathe.  After a days journey, Marcus and Cecelia decided firmly that they needed to find somewhere to dock before continuing their trip to Morley.  
"Is there anywhere we can go? There's nothing but water for miles" Cece remarked, looking out at the sea and scrunching her nose at it.  
  
"Not too knowledgeable on traveling the Isles by boat but... I think I saw a map in here" He pulled the sack Emily had packed for them back in the safe room before they split up towards him and rifled through it until his fingers felt paper.  
  
"Ah yes!" He said, pulling it out.  He opened it "This is a map of the Isles... Uh...." he traced his fingers over it "A little outdated, what is her problem?"  
  
Cece laughed "Maybe she collects old maps, Marcus.  At least she packed one"  
  
"We might be able to find a place to stay in Potterstead, it's the closest place to us. We have to swerve off course a little bit. But..."  
  
"It's worth it if we can find a real boat" Cece finished his thought for him, she reached over for the map and looked over it, Marcus nodded "Exactly, switching courses.  A new destination, Potterstead!"  
  
"I've never even heard of this place and I've lived in Dunwall my whole life." She shook her head lightly, still looking over the map  
  
"I think it was mentioned briefly in a History of The Isles.  Kind of a footnote though" Marcus said, switching the direction of the skiff, water lightly splashing into their faces.  
"Oh," Cece said, disappointed "The map got wet!"  
  
"It's fine, just try to fold it back up and put it in the pack" Marcus replied without looking away from the water "We should arrive in about two hours."  
  
"Hopefully they have an inn"  
  
"And food"  
  
"Oh I forgot about food"  
  
"I didn't" Marcus groaned as his stomach lurched  
  
"How can you even think about food on this skiff with the choppiest water I've ever seen?"  
  
"I don't normally get seasick" Marcus admitted, "I'm also normally not on such a low to the water mode of transportation." He shrugged "I guess when you can see the water up close it makes it worse somehow"  
  
"Because you imagine all the ways it can flip your boat over and you could drown" Cece added  
  
"Morbid" Marcus said "I like it" She responded with a coy smile as she started to try folding the damp map back into the tiny paper square it had been previously.  
It had taken a little longer than two hours to arrive in the small town of Potterstead as the skiff had run into engine trouble right as they were nearly there. Marcus was afraid they'd have to jump out and swim the rest of the way until he found a way to keep the skiff going.  
  
Until it puttered out completely, and they did have to jump into the water and swim the rest of the way there.  
  
Thankfully they were close to the docks anyway, before jumping ship the pair had to decide how to proceed.  All of their stuff was in these bags, which surely wouldn't survive the swim up to the docks.  
  
The idea to use the rope and harnesses that were on the skiff before they took off to pull the skiff behind them as they swam came to him, though he regretted this as they arrived at the dock, His arms tired and his breath coming in wheezes and Cece groaning and rubbing her shoulder.  
  
"I'm sure it didn't need to be that difficult," She said, helping him out of the water and onto the dock with a shaking hand  
  
"We have got to find some food," He said, "What do you suppose the time is?"  
  
"Mid-afternoon," She said looking around at the light and the way it reflected off the buildings "I hope we don't get any odd stares"  
  
"Well we did just swim to the dock pulling a skiff behind us, I'd be a little worried if nobody stared" He looked around "It doesn't look like anyone is here, though."  
Cece followed his lead and looked around as well "Wow, this place is really empty, did we... stumble into a ghost town or something?"  
  
"I have no idea, maybe we should try to find an inn or something" He leaned over and pulled the two sacks off the skiff, handing one to Cece and slinging the other over his shoulder as they headed away from the docks to try and find any signs of civilization.  
  
They found civilization little ways away from the dock, women, men, and children rushing through the streets in colors Ceceila had never seen in Dunwall and that put the Morley festival colors to shame.  They stood there in soaking wet clothes.with their mouths agape.  It was no wonder their presence drew the attention of an older woman, presumably one of the shop owners in the area.  
  
"Are you lost?" She asked, a touch of concern in her voice as she approached the two  
  
The woman strolled over "You two are soaking wet!" She exclaimed "Come on darlings, Let's get you dry"  
  
Marcus made a feeble protest before the woman ushered them across the street and into an apartment overlooking the whole district which he assumed belonged to her.  
  
"Do you live here?" Cece asked, echoing his thoughts  
  
The woman busied herself with a copper pot, placing it with water on top of the stove, Marcus had never seen the wood burning stoves before.  Where he lived in Morley much of the cookware was powered simply by steam, Something he always thought Dunwall should look into as an alternative to whale oil.  
"Yes, me and Ronald.  Though he's out at the moment, We've lived here for about thirty years" She turned away from the stove and led them down a hallway and into a back room, Marcus was a little worried that she was going to lock them in and wait for Ronald to come home so they could place them in the wood burning stove as fuel.  
  
He shook himself, the stress of the situation was starting to mess with his brain, coming up with awful scenarios and horrific thoughts.  
  
Instead of locking them in the room, the woman rifled through a trunk full of what looked like rags, but upon closer inspection was actually clothing.  
"Here's some of my and Ronald's old clothing; You two should be able to fit them.  Now take these to the washroom and get yourself into some dry clothes before you catch your death." She handed an armful of the clothing to Marcus who shot Cecelia a slightly worried look before they turned back to the woman  
"It's upstairs, down the hall and to the right," She said "If you need anything at all just holler, I'll be down in the kitchens with the tea"  
  
Marcus and Cecelia stood there for a moment staring at the woman before heading up the stairs to change.  Upon arriving in the washroom Marcus shut and locked the door, dropping the pile of clothes, and the sack he had been carrying over his shoulder onto the floor and pacing "We need to get out of here"  
"Why are you so tense?" Cece asked, picking up the clothes from the floor and setting them upon the sink, picking at the fabric.  
  
Marcus sat on the edge of the wooden tub, He had also never seen one of these before as in his home and in many of the places in Morley, the washrooms always had clawfoot designed baths.   "I have a bad feeling about this woman, I can't put my finger on it but...." He gestured listlessly before dropping his hands into his lap  
Cece nodded slowly "I think she's very nice, but if you have that feeling, we should get out of here as soon as we get out of these disgusting river clothes"  She took off the sack from her shoulder and dropped it by the door where Marcus had let his fall.   
  
"I know she's nice," Marcus said as Cece crossed back over to the sink, grabbing the old clothes "But she... reminds me of something bad, and I can't put my finger on it.  When I was a kid, there were stories of a monster that could shapeshift into regular villagers, nice old ladies, sweet little children"  He shook his head "I know it sounds crazy... but she reminds me of those stories"  
  
"I've never heard those stories" Cece said, starting to strip out of her wet clothes, Marcus felt his cheeks turn red as he fought to keep his eyes down "in Dunwall there were stories of a woman named Granny Rags, they say she was a witch and she was marked by the Outsider"  
  
Marcus snorted, his eyes still staring firmly at the bathroom tiles beneath his feet "I heard about the Granny Rags myths, but didn't they say the same stuff about Delilah Copperspoon? A witch marked by the Outsider?" He tried to stop himself from laughing harder "I mean it all sounds ridiculous, the Outsider isn't real!"  
"There's a lot of myths in the Isles, who knows what is real or not," She said, Marcus heard the sound of wet clothes thudding to the floor as she replaced them with the dry ones "You can look now," she said  
  
Marcus looked up at her as she smoothed out the wrinkles, She was wearing a puffy blouse with a dark vest, and loose-fitting grey trousers, her hair was out of its holder and fell past her shoulders, somehow looking more vibrant in the dingy washroom than it had out in the sun.  
  
"I'll leave the room for you," She said "I wouldn't want you to be embarrassed," She said stifling a little giggle as she exited the room before he was able to respond.  
He quickly removed the wet articles of clothing, wringing them out and shoving them roughly into an empty compartment in the rucksack, he got dressed in clothes awfully similar to Cecelia's, he wondered if the lady downstairs and Ronald were twins.  
  
He went towards the door and tapped to notify Cece he was finished and she opened the door "That lady, she's gone"  
"What?" He asked, opening the door in full  
  
"I went downstairs to let her know we wouldn't be able to stay for tea, she's gone."  
Marcus crossed to the beginning of the staircase, Cece behind him "Let's not wait to find out if she's coming back, let's get out of here"  
"By the void!" Cece let out a scream  
  
  
  
  



	24. Spectres

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things heat up for the group as Emily and the Outsider both attempt to escape from Coldridge, meanwhile in Morley, Cece and Marcus meet up with Corvo demanding answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter includes spoilers for The Wrymwood Deceit series of Dishonored comics, as well as The Peeress and the Price 1# and #2, and slight DoTO spoilers.
> 
> Emily's starting to experience similar anomalies to the Outsider, though his are more intense and are starting to occur more often. Emily's memories of Archibald are only that he was against her rule, never that he had come around after the public arrest of Luella. There are only slight differences between what happened and what she remembers, but it explains Emily's lapse in memory when she was speaking to Roscoe about him and accepting his words as the truth and it explains why she didn't just say "But he came around!" Because in her memory, he never did. 
> 
> Oswinna is not telling of things from the alternate timelines, she's simply relating information she knows to be true to Emily, in this "timeline" Archibald never did publicly come out in support of Emily Kaldwin, though in secret he wanted to and was uncomfortable with the Free Dunwall Movement as that isn't what he truly stood for.
> 
> These things were happening in Dunwall mostly underground, only a few people outside the slums knew of them and they weren't talking, Emily was in Karnaca around this time during the events of EMBERS and as such wouldn't have noticed any of these things.
> 
> Some of the events of EMBERS and the canon post Dishonored 2 events possibly take place at or around the same time, but can be explained by the anomalies Emily and the Outsider are experiencing and will be completely cleared up by the final chapter.
> 
> The "Tears" that Cece and Marcus are interacting with are inspired by the tears in Bioshock Infinite, but they work not by showing you an image from an alternate reality or timeline, as Marcus heard Emily's voice in the tear, it can be assumed that it was relating information from a possible future. Their appearance is similar to the tears in Infinite merged with the appearance of Emily's mesmerize power.

  
Roscoe had kept his promise and met Emily back at her cell after the floodlights in Coldridge had been shut off and were replaced by the lowlights the prison implemented to save power.   Roscoe made sure the other prisoners weren't awake before standing in front of Emily's cell to speak to her.  
  
"What is going on?" Emily asked, pushing up from her cot  
  
"From what I heard," Roscoe said, keeping his voice quiet "The Free Dunwall movement is more than just... what they say they are"  
  
"What does that mean?"  
  
"They suspect occultism and black magic in the tower.  They believe you're responsible for all of the weird shit going down the last few years"  
  
"Can't they blame the Outsider like the Abbey does?" Emily said, crossing her arms  
  
"That's the thing... they think the Outsider has his hooks in you, that you're some kind of puppet for the Void"  
  
Emily froze "What?" She was grateful in this moment that the Coldridge uniform came with gloves "But what about Delilah?"  
  
"That witch who stole the throne a couple years back?" Roscoe asked  
  
Emily nodded  
  
"Well, I can't speak from knowledge but I'd assume they believe you had something to do with her as well"  
  
Emily scoffed angrily "I can't believe this"  
  
"Free Dunwall has members up in Morley as well... Part of a larger group who originally spoke out against your mother's reign as Empress"  
  
"Morley?" Emily repeated "That's... where all of this started.  I received a letter from a man in Morley talking about disappearances and then soon after that, that assassin infiltrated my tower and framed me for murder"  
  
Roscoe nodded "You thinking it's all connected? That these Free Dunwall people sent someone to kill you?"  
  
"It's the only thing that makes sense.... My father is headed to Morley. He had left the tower before the guards could take him in for questioning"  
  
"Do you think the Lord Protector knows about Free Dunwall?"  
  
Emily started to pace back and forth in her cell, her head was spinning with the thoughts of this conspiracy, the information she was being told by Roscoe, it all fit together. "I don't know... I don't think my father would keep something like this from me, but... there's a reason he's headed to Morley and it's... separate from this, I never told him about the letter, the disappearances..."  Emily was certain her father could have found out about the Free Dunwall movement through his connections as the royal spymaster, but she was also certain he wouldn't keep this information from her.  
  
She turned back towards Roscoe "You say you can help me get out of here?"  
  
"I can try, but I just want to let you know I'm putting myself at great risk here, not a smack on the wrist either."  
  
"I don't want to get you in any trouble," Emily said looking around "If you can't get me out, Don't worry about it... But I need you to get my friend out"  
  
"Your friend?"  
  
"Black-haired man they brought in with me. I don't know where they took him and he doesn't seem to be in any of these cells"  
  
Roscoe's neutral expression was replaced with a slight grimace "Oh, uh... Your friend, he might have been taken into the back room"  
  
Emily raised her eyebrow at Roscoe, he awkwardly scratched the back of his head "The back room?" She asked.  He stared blankly at her for a few moments before answering "Uh, yeah... the back room is reserved for torturing the inmates if they think they can get information out of them"  
  
_Torture_  
  
The word repeated in Emily's mind, she remembered the stories that her father would tell her of his time in Coldridge - that he was restrained and tortured by a madman while Hiram Burrows watched, cold and calculated, from the side, the screams of a man wrongfully accused of the murder of the love of his life did not effect Burrows.  She was not surprised to find out that Corvo still had nightmares of that experience.  
  
"Why would they torture him..." Emily fell back to her cot, a sick feeling in her stomach.  
  
"Honestly they seem to be the types that just want to torture others, it's not on the level"  
  
Emily glared up at Roscoe, he was leaning against the bars of her cell, "You knew"  She said, "You knew and you haven't done anything about it?"  
  
"I have a job..." He said "My job is not to get in the way of the establishment and get myself fired, I don't even have to be here offering you help"  
  
"And yet you are..." Emily said, getting up and pointing at the man  
  
"You're helping either because you're getting something out of this or you genuinely want to do better, to redeem yourself.   If you wanted that, you would put a stop to the disgusting things that happen in this facility"  
  
"Oh you don't know, you don't know what it's like Empress"  
  
"No, I don't... but I know that if I saw something happening I would try to stop it.   In any case, if you want redemption, please help my friend get out of here"  
  
"What about you?" Roscoe asked with a sigh  
  
"I'll make my own way"  
  
"Are you kidding me, this is the highest security prison in the Isles, you're never going to walk away from here"  
  
"I know someone who once escaped from Coldridge," Emily said,  brushing the dust off her prison uniform "That man was my father, and I know I can get away from here as well. but I need your word that you will save my friend."  
  
Roscoe took a moment, and set his jaw forward, determined. "I'll do it"  
  
"Thank you," Emily said  "If you can get him out of here, bring him to the docks. That's where I'll be heading"  
  
"I'll do my best Majesty" He fiddled with the keys on his chain for a moment and pulled one off  "Here's the key to your cell, be careful.  You better hope you really do have the Outsider's favor, because that's the only way you're getting out of here alive"  
  
Emily grabbed the key, turning it over in her hand "You're underestimating my ability"  
  
  
* * * *  
  
Oliver's mind was spinning as Lud and Tork continued their game of physical abuse, first against him, then against each other when Lud accused Tork of not hitting hard enough.  
  
The images that flashed through his head, memories he thought.  But how could that be? He seemed to be remembering things that he had no recollection of ever happening.  
  
Maybe they are happening right now.  He watched the two wooden-headed guards tackle each other, the buzzing in his ears nearly drowning out their grunts until he heard something else.  A faint whisper of a voice long forgotten.  
  
"Daud?" He said aloud.  He was so distracted by his reverie that he hadn't realized his words caught the attention of Tork and Lud  
  
"Daud?" Tork said "The damn knife of Dunwall? What's he got to do with anything?"  
  
"How's he a knife? Thought he was a man!" Lud said, scratching his head.  Tork gave him a glare and turned back to Oliver, placing his hand on his shoulder lightly, a stark contrast to the way he had handled him previously  
  
"You know Daud?"  
  
Oliver nodded "In a way."  
  
He watched Tork process this information for longer than was necessary  "Hey, got a deal for you.  If you can track 'em down, we'll let you go."  
  
"I doubt you have the authority to do that" Oliver quipped, he had no idea why he was snarking the man who was beating him up, but he felt justified.  
  
"Yeah but we do it anyway, all the time" Lud chimed in  
  
Tork punched his friend in the arm "Shut up, I'm tryna ask a question here."  He looked back at Oliver.  "Ya see, the Knife owes us a little favor after we helped him out back in the day"  
  
"Why is it not surprising to learn you helped out Dunwall's most notorious assassin?"  
  
"Because shut up!" Tork said angrily "I could just as easily toss you out a window in a body bag"  
  
"Fair enough, What do you want?"  Oliver asked with a groan as the pain in his side washed over him and made him feel like throwing up on the cold stone floor  
  
"We'll let you go, but you gotta find Daud and give him this" He took out a piece of paper from his dirty uniform "Don't read it though, it's private"  
  
"You want me to give him a piece of paper?" He raised his eyebrow  
  
"Yeah, simple as that.  So simple even Lud here could manage"  Tork said  
  
Lud looked up at the mention of his name, he had been picking at his fingernails with one of the objects for torture, because of his momentary lapse in attention his other hand slipped and he sliced through the skin "Ow!" He shouted  
  
Tork shook his head "Okay maybe not him, but you... You're one of the most resilient people I've tortured in years.  If anyone can find him, I'm sure it'll be you. "  
  
Oliver thought on this for a moment, would he even be able to find Daud without being in the Void? He doubted it severely.  And for whatever reason, he was unable to return to the Void, he was feeling more and more disconnected from it with each passing moment.    But if making this promise could get him out of here, he had no reason to say no, it isn't as though Tork and Lud were the smartest and most capable people in Dunwall, and would be very unlikely to come after him if he broke his word.  
  
"Fine," He said finally "I'll do it, I'll find the Knife of Dunwall for you and give him your note"  
  
Tork smiled, it was a very disturbing thing to witness as he was missing half of his front teeth. Oliver wondered if it was due to wear and tear over the years or if he had simply pulled them out himself.    
  
"Fantastic" He approached the chair and started to undo the chains.  
  
"We can sneak you outta here real stealth like.   We're gonna pretend we taking you back to your cell but really you're going to the basement"  
  
"Basement?" Oliver asked, "What's in the basement?"  
  
"There's a little crawl space in the basement leading out to the banks, you might be able to get to the docks from there and head out to find Daud. "  
  
"How am I supposed to trust that you are being honest when you have spent the last several hours beating me?"  
  
"That's reasonable.  Look, I'll punch myself in the face so you know I'm not lyin,"  Tork said, lifting up his arm.    
  
Oliver glared at him "How is that going-"  
  
His words were interrupted by Tork slamming his fist into his own face, Lud was chuckling in the background while holding a dirty germ ridden cloth to his bloodied hand.  
  
"I didn't... think you would actually do that" Oliver said, he didn't know whether to be impressed or disturbed.  He decided on the latter.   Tork pulled his hand away from his face to reveal another tooth had come out of his mouth "Ha, maybe I hit a little too hard" He finished undoing the chains and helped Oliver to his feet "You trust me now?"  
  
"I am going to be very honest with you, Tork.  I'm at a loss figuring out how you harming yourself was supposed to prove any kind of loyalty.... But alright, I trust you."  
  
"Good," Tork said "I've got nothin' personal against you Kid, I just gotta beat people up when I'm asked"  
  
Oliver grimaced as he felt the full weight of the pain that had been inflicted by the man in front of him, it was as though his entire body had been trampled by a runaway horse carriage.  He wasn't sure how he was going to make it out of here alive.  
  
"Hey kid," Tork said, helping Oliver steady himself  "Here. I think you need this more than I do." He dug around in his pocket and procured some sort of talisman, holding it up to the dim light "This was something given to my grandfather by some shaman who lived up in the mountains of Wei-Ghon, it's supposed to bring luck to the wearer.  Abbey says it's heresy and powered by the dark tainted lust of the Outsider but what do they know. I have been carrying it with me for years and I ain't never had bad luck."  He held it out for Oliver  
  
"I don't know if I can accept that," Oliver said, eyeing the talisman, it was bronze and appeared to be dull from years of wear. Oliver couldn't make out what it was but it reminded him of something.    
  
Something he had seen quite recently...  
  
Before he could make sense of it, his head felt as though it were splitting open and his eyes were burning from a sudden flash of bright lights  
  
_Deirdre, you gave me this for luck but I don't think it's ever worked that way.  I hope it will now._  
  
Words, flashes, memories he shouldn't have had come crashing into his mind, he found the strength to look up and what he saw was astounding.  Things in this tiny little dimly lit room were flickering in and out of existence before his very eyes, Tork and Lud were there one moment and not there the next.  
  
Like Stilton's Manor.... Oliver remembered that the only place he saw anything like this was while he had watched Emily traverse through Stilton's broken manner.  Delilah had broken something with her ritual and left behind a hole in Stilton's home, leaving room for the Void to leak out in that place.  
  
_A hole in the world._  
  
He caught his reflection in the shiny surface of the knife that Tork had dropped to the floor;  Tork and Lud were not moving, it was almost as if time had stopped altogether.   Oliver grabbed the knife and gasped; his eyes.... they were flickering, solid black one moment, the fake glimmer the next, and then... something more, something he doesn't remember.  
  
_We let you live._  
  
Her voice again, the ship captain, the one who helped Daud kill the Empress, the one who helped Emily defeat Delilah.  
  
I can get you out of here her voice echoed in his ears as if it were coming from all around him.  
  
As quickly as it began, whatever happened to him was over and he was doubled up in pain on the cold stone floor of the torture room, Tork and Lud standing over him  
  
"What in all the Isles?" Tork kneeled down "You okay?"  
  
Oliver groaned as he sat up "Not exactly, my bones feel like garbage"  
  
Tork scratched his head awkwardly "Heh, yeah. Sorry about that.  I get carried away"  Oliver shook his head and pushed himself to his feet.  
  
"You wanna take the talisman?" Tork asked again "You might need it if you're gonna be passing out like that"  
  
Oliver reached out to grab it "I'll take it" He the amulet attached to a chain, and he put it on over his head.  "Take me to the basement, I'm ready to get out of here"  
  
"You got it, Canary"  
  
"Canary?" Oliver asked, wincing at the pain in his body  
  
"Yeah, like a coal miners thing, the canaries tell you what's wrong before you die or somethin'."  
  
"But what does that have to do with what's going on here? We're not in a coal mine"  
  
"Well you got a great point there, but you're like a messenger, telling Daud what's up before we die or before he dies"  
  
"That's not the same thing," Oliver said  
  
"Oh," Tork said dejectedly "Well can I still call you Canary?"  
  
Oliver almost laughed "Yeah, you can call me Canary"  
  
The three of them headed out of the caged room to make their way to the basement without arousing suspicion from the other guards.  
  
  
  
  
Cece's scream echoed through the house and rang in Marcus' ears, he turned around to see what appeared to be a strange little tear near the restroom door "What in the Isles?" He walked slowly back up the stairs as Cece approached the tear "I wouldn't get too close to that thing" He said, "We have no idea what it is"  
  
"It looks like a tear... Like when you rip your clothes or a piece of parchment" Cece said  
  
Marcus stared at it, this was absolutely one of the strangest things he had ever seen.  When he was a child he had grown up hearing stories about the Void and rumors from people who claimed to have seen or met the Outsider directly, but he never believed in any of that nonsense. He was rather staunch in his belief in the ordinary, when he read word of Delilah Copperspoon in papers that dubbed her an "otherworldly usurper" he doubted the powers the papers claimed she had.  
  
But this, this was something unexplainable.  He leaned in closer and he could almost hear voices "I can hear something in here" he closed his eyes to focus on the sounds of the voices.  
  
_The Outsider gave me his mark, I used it to save my father._  
  
But that was.... that was Emily's voice... That's impossible.  
  
Marcus pulled away from the strange rip in reality and looked at Cecelia "Did you... did you hear that?"  
  
"Hear what?" She said  
  
"I was- I just heard Emily's voice in this thing..."  
  
"That's rather odd," Cece said with a frown "What do you think this is? What do you think it means?"  
  
"I don't know" Marcus walked around the rip, looking at it without getting too close to it "I mean it could be some kind of tear into an alternate reality..."  
  
"Or maybe a glimpse into the future" Cecelia offered  
"Both equally insane"  
  
Before he could further investigate the strange rip in time, it disappeared completely and the room before them was the same as it had always been; Marcus and Cecelia shared a look.  
  
  
  
  
  
When Emily was a child she had wondered what she would inherit from her mother, and later she wondered what she would from her father.  She never thought she would inherit the skills to break out of prison.  
  
She leaned against the bars of her cell, waiting for the perfect moment to leave, she was going to have to knock out a lot of guards if she wanted to get out of here in one piece, and even still; everyone is on high alert because they believed she was responsible for the murder within the tower.  She wondered if Roscoe had found Oliver yet; if he was being rescued, she knew that she had to leave soon no matter what, but she didn't know if she could stomach not knowing if Oliver was safe, and if he wasn't there to meet her at the docks....  
  
She shook herself.  
  
Now was not the time to worry about him, she had to get out of here and head to Morley, she had to find her father and uncover the mystery.  Couldn't she ever have a nice quiet time? She rolled the key over in her hands, over and over again, until she saw the last light dim.  Dim lights would make it easier for her to sneak around once she left the cell.

  
She looked around quickly to try to find something to soften the sound of the key turning in the lock but the cell was empty and the cloth covering the cot was too thin to work, she looked down at her uniform and nodded to herself; it was just thick enough to work if she doubled it over several times.  
Quietly, she ripped the sleeve of her uniform and folded it over twice, placing it around the bars as she stuck her arm through to get the key in the lock, it was near impossible to see what she was doing and the key slipped out several times.  
  
"Ugh," She whispered.  
  
She gave it another try, after a few moments she was finally able to get the key in at the right angle and the door clicked.  Now, she just had to make sure to be quiet while opening the door and sneaking around the room.  
  
Slowly, she opened the cell door, pausing every few seconds to make sure nobody was coming around on their night patrol.  
Alright Emily thought So opening a door inch by inch isn't the most exciting thing in the world, I am still breaking out of prison.  
  
She didn't open the door all the way, she had to assume it was one of those doors that creak against themselves when you open them past a certain point, it didn't matter, she was able to squeeze through the tight opening and crouch down on all fours once she was out of the cell.  
  
She scanned the room and made notes of each dark space and hiding spot she could use if a guard came by.  There was only one exit and if the doorway was blocked by a guard she could be trapped there all night.   She had to find another way out, she couldn't risk going out into the bright lights of the hall outside this cell block, she would most certainly be caught.  
  
"Hey" a voice from behind her  
  
She spun around on her feet to see a woman's face pressed against the bars of the cell near the one she had been in "You tryna get out of here? I can help you"  
  
"Excuse me?" Emily asked the woman, trying to keep quiet, she snuck over to the cell "Why would you want to help me?"  
  
"You're Empress Kaldwin, ain't ya?"  
  
"Yes, and I'm here under the wrongful accusation of murder within my own tower."  
  
"I heard the guard talking to ya about Archibald Wainwright supporting the Free Duwnall movement," The woman said "And he ain't right about it"  
  
"Are you saying he's lying to me?"  
  
She shook her head "Nah Roscoe's a good guy as far as I can tell, but he seems to have his intel mixed up."  
  
Emily listened to the woman speak but suddenly it was as if she were listening to her voice from very far away, she was so mesmerized that she hadn't noticed her nose starting to bleed and dripping down onto her uniform  
  
"Hey!" The woman hissed "You're bleeding"  
  
Her words broke Emily out of her haze and back to reality What was that?  
  
"Sorry, just a... uh, nosebleed."  When she was in her haze she had remembered odd things that she didn't recall happening, faint memories she couldn't quite grasp onto. She remember Archibald Wainwright as the man who was against her crown and the man who held rallies against her rule, but her mind was flashing with his face at the public decision of the fate of Luella Price  
  
_long live the Empress!_ the man had cheered with a smile on his face, he had come around.  
  
But Emily didn't remember this, she had never _experienced_ it  
  
_a hole in the world_ the Outsider's voice rang in her ears, she almost thought he was behind her and she turned around to see only darkness.  
  
"What's wrong with you? You look like you've seen a ghost or something" the woman asked, her face still pressed against the cold bars  
  
"Nothing, Tell me about Archibald, what was Roscoe wrong about?"  
  
"He didn't fund Free Dunwall, they made it up to make him look bad.  They got their ideas from Price, not Wainwright.  When she was arrested it was when they started coming up"  
  
Emily scolded herself, how could she have missed this happening right under her nose? She had sworn that she wouldn't let herself become so absorbed in her thoughts that she overlooked other things the way she had overlooked Delilah's coup.  
Delilah had planned her coup for years right underneath Emily's nose, in her own Empire.  Years ago, Corvo and a woman named Martha Cottings who used to work on the City Guard under Alexi Mayhew, investigated strange goings-on in the Dunwall slums.  They had thought it was gang-related, but Corvo had experienced one of the weirdest things when he had found his long-lost nephew, only to have him fade into nothingness like he never existed at all.  
  
After Delilah's coup, Corvo and Emily had thought more on this and it had made sense it was part of Delilah's plan to distract Corvo and get him out of the way so Delilah would have no obstacles in her way.  
How could Emily let this happen again? Another group of people opposing her and growing in power as she knew nothing and did nothing to stop them? She grew a lot after the coup, she was determined to be a better ruler but now she realized she wasn't any better than she used to be.  
  
"How come I didn't know anything about the Free Dunwall movement? Why wouldn't Archibald have said anything?"  
  
"Simple, he didn't want to get in trouble.  He knew that you knew he had campaigned against you, even if he wasn't working for the underground movement, well... back then it was underground, now it's just a little on the down low"  
  
"It's low enough that I didn't notice it," Emily said with a sigh  
  
"Well sure, but don't beat yourself up over it. Nobody knew about the Free Dunwall movement, it's real well hidden.  Roscoe only stumbled into a conversation in the slums about it.  That's how he got his information,  But back on Archibald, He didn't tell you about the FDM because he thought you'd think he was a part of it, or behind it.  The public, well, not so public back then, but rumors of his involvement... They didn't make him popular"  
  
"Why don't I remember any of this? Why didn't I notice any of this?"  
  
"It was about two years ago, what were you doing after Price's incarceration?"  
  
"I had gone back to Karnaca to help with the cleanup after Delilah's coup, there were rumors of cult activity....Maybe I was gone when it was going on"  
  
"Possible. In any case, I can help you."  
  
"I'm not about to trust a stranger in a prison cell," Emily said  
  
"Fair enough, but you wanna know how I know all of what I know?"  
  
"Go ahead"  
  
"I knew Archibald, we used to be friends before I was locked up." She put her hand up "In case you wanna know what I'm in here for, it ain't murder or nothing.  Trafficking 'giggle dust' is what they got me for"  
  
"Giggle dust?"  
  
"It's the street name for a drug, makes you giggly and gives you hallucinations."  
  
Emily put her hand to her face, Drug peddling had become a problem in Dunwall in the last five years, gangs found out that it could make them more coin if they sold them and they picked it up.  She had signed numerous decrees to lessen the extent of the drug peddling, but similar to the whale oil shortage decree, they would always find a way if they were determined enough.  
  
"Okay, so you knew him and now you're telling me all this. But that doesn't explain how you can help me out of here" Emily crossed her arms, she didn't have a lot of time; she needed to get out of here and get to Morley, she needed to solve this mystery once and for all.  
"Okay, so there's a real easy way out in the basement.  A tunnel getting out of here, it comes out at the old black market shop near the docks."  
  
"A tunnel?"  
  
"Yeah a tunnel, I would know. I dug it up!" She threw her head back and laughed "Oh where the crap is my manners, I never gave you my name.  I'm Oswinna"  
  
"Do you think you can help me find the basement, Oswinna?"  
  
"Don't know your way around here do ya?"  
  
Emily gave her a look "I've never been to prison before"  
  
Oswinna nodded "Of course, of course, I've just been here so long I'm not used to newcomers, or first timers. I can help you out, Just pick the lock on here and we can sneak down together"  
  
Emily pulled a pin out of her hair, it had gone unnoticed by the guards when she was brought in because it had been hiding underneath her signature royal bun to clip part of the hair underneath "Alright, I don't know what I'm doing here"  
  
"I find that hard to believe, Empress"  
  
  
  
"I heard her voice as clear as day, It was Emily... she has the mark of the Outsider..." Marcus said, pacing around the woman's living room.  
It had been nearly an hour and she had not come back, but Marcus and Cecelia were too jittery after seeing the strange tear to even think about leaving.  
  
"We can't know that for certain" Cece said, sitting on the arm of an old chair and swinging her feet against the wooden floor "Maybe the.. tear was lying to us? Maybe it's trying to trick us"  
  
Marcus stopped pacing and stopped in front of her, he raised his eyebrow "What are you saying?"  
  
"Maybe it's trying to turn us against Emily or something"  
  
"Well," Marcus said, crossing his arms "It's certainly working.  How could she lie to us about this? This whole thing... She's got the Outsider's mark! She's a heretic!"  
  
"Now be careful with what you say Marcus" Cece said "Emily has done nothing but good her whole life, She's not got an evil bone in her body"  
  
"There were rumors of how she defeated that Copperspoon woman, there were people saying she had the Outsider's favor," Marcus said angrily  
  
"I thought you didn't believe in the Outsider or the Void"  
  
"Well I just saw damn near the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life back there" He pointed towards the staircase "I don't know what I believe in anymore." His eyes widened "What if this whole thing... this whole... I read in a Morley paper that Emily had been spotted with a secret lover... a man with dark hair"  
  
Cecelia looked at him in surprise "Are you saying Emily is involved with the Outsider romantically?"  
  
"She was really determined to stop those so-called rumors... even going so far as to announce our fake marriage," Marcus said, swallowing hard, "I think Emily has been lying about a lot of things..."  
  
"We have to go," He said "We have to get out of here"  
  
"What about our stuff?" Cece asked as Marcus took her by the wrist and led her out the door "It's only going to slow us down, we need some answers.  We're going to find Corvo"  
  
The pair headed out into the streets, which were filled with even more people than they had been when they first were invited into the woman's home, there was no sign of her through the crowd.  Marcus looked around at the decorations, it was a festival for the Month of High Cold which was fast upon them.  
  
He couldn't believe it had been this long, it felt like only yesterday where he had set out to Dunwall to meet with the Empress of the Isles, now he's standing here back in Morley on a search for answers.   He would find Corvo, and he would demand an answer to the burning question in his head.  
  
Cecelia was awfully quiet for their trip, they spent what felt like hours asking people around the street for information on if they had seen the Lord Protector of Dunwall, or if they had seen a man matching his description.  The two finally decided to call it a night when evening was upon them, they would retire back to the now abandoned home the woman they met when they came to Morley.  
Upon arriving, they noticed there were low lights on "Someone has been here" Marcus said, holding his arm out to stop Cece from going in  
  
"Do you think she came back?"  
  
He shook his head "I'd smell her perfume"  
  
"The woman that lived here," A gruff man's voice said "She's gone, taken by the same mysterious entity that's been responsible for a lot of the disappearances around here" the man walked out of the shadows and Marcus gasped.  It was who they were looking for, Lord Protector and spymaster, Corvo Attano  
  
"Corvo?"  
  
"Cecelia?" Corvo asked, surprised etched on his weathered face "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I think you might want to talk to Marcus about that," She said shyly  
"Marcus? Where is my daughter?" Corvo asked  
  
"No" Marcus stepped forward "You answer my question first... Have you or your daughter ever been in contact with the Outsider?"  
  
  



	25. Prison Block Blues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Marcus and Cecelia urge Corvo to help them with their investigation, Emily and Oliver try to escape from Coldridge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the long wait between chapters! Here's a fresh new one to welcome you into the new year!
> 
> _________________  
> implied spoilers from Death of The Outsider, read at your own risk!

Corvo tensed up before finding his voice again "What is this?" He asked as Marcus stepped forward  
  
"You heard me," He said, voice trembling.  What was he doing? He was about to accuse the Royal Protector and Empress of The Isles of Heresy.  The man in front of him could have him locked away for all of time, or have his head chopped off by the high overseer himself.   He shook himself, No, He had to do this.  "Have you or Emily ever had any contact with The Outsider?"  
  
If Corvo was bewildered by the question he did not let his body betray those feelings. He shook his head "I have no idea what you're talking about, and you're not exactly the one who should be asking questions here.  The last I saw of you" He stroked his fingers through his beard "It was at the tower in Dunwall.  Why are you here? And most importantly, where is my daughter?"  
  
"Emily is" Marcus started to say, but was promptly interrupted by Cece "Emily is probably still in Dunwall," She said nervously  
  
"What?" Corvo said, the anger rising in his words as he stormed over to Marcus and grabbed him by the collar on his shirt, lifting him up and pushing him against the wall "You are going to tell me exactly what in all the isles possessed you to abandon my Emily!"  
  
"She lied to us!" Marcus said, voice trembling.  Corvo was going to have his head for sure.  "Those rumors... in our paper, they talked of a romantic tryst.  This is why she suggested throwing the public off of rumors, we would announce our engagement. They would think nothing of the rumors."  
  
Marcus could tell that Corvo was becoming impatient and he felt the man's muscled hands tighten the grip they held against his shoulders "What does this have to do with anything?"  
  
"She lied! It was with him.  She didn't want the public to know of her heretical relationship with the Outsider"  
  
At this, Corvo loosened his grip and Marcus slumped to the floor.  Corvo sat on the small frilly couch and put his head in his hands "So you left?"  He asked "You abandon her, get her captured? Thrown in prison?"  
  
"I..." Marcus started  
  
"I don't want to hear it," Corvo said, his voice wavering "You put my daughter in danger. There is no excuse for what you've done."  
  
Marcus picked himself up from the floor, smoothing out his jacket and taking a deep calculated breath before speaking again "Her relationship with the Outsider has put her in danger"  
  
"How did you find out?" Corvo asked  
  
Cece pushed past Marcus, giving him a dirty look "Marcus, I don't think you should speak any more to him. He is obviously very angry and in his current state, I do not blame him.  I feel horrible about not waiting for Emily and I feel horrible about suspecting her of anything" She sat on the couch next to Corvo as Marcus rolled his eyes.  
  
"What happened?" Corvo asked her "Don't leave anything out"  
  
Cecelia spent the next near hour relating their story to Corvo, everything that had happened since she had run into Emily and Marcus at the tower and everything they had told her happened leading up to that moment.  
  
"We decided to come to Morley to find you, since the note you left Emily said you had gone.  Emily had mentioned strange disappearances in Morley and some odd letters she had gotten.  We were all going to go together, but we separated.  Marcus and I went towards the docks and Emily went with Oliver to find another way"  
  
"Oliver?" Corvo asked  
  
Marcus, arms still crossed and leaning against the wall near the old lady's fireplace "You'd know him better as The Outsider"  
  
Cecelia flashed him a dangerous look "I'm speaking to him!" She shouted, then she looked embarrassed at the outburst "Please" She added softly.  She turned her attention back to Corvo "Yes, Oliver.. the Outsider, I don't know how it is possible that he is with her physically, but he is."  
  
"It's likely some sort of void based magic that is letting him do this, but you don't seem to be too shocked about the Outsider"  Corvo pointed out  
  
Cece shifted uncomfortably and nervously glanced towards Marcus "That is uh, something for another conversation"  Corvo nodded  
  
"Fair enough," He said "Continue"  
  
"Marcus and I came to Morley, we were invited in by the woman who owns this place, she seemed to just disappear after we went upstairs.  We saw strange...tears, I guess you could call them. It was like reality was being ripped apart."  
  
"We heard Emily's voice from one of them" Marcus added  
  
Corvo raised an eyebrow "What did she say?"  
  
"She said that she used the mark of the Outsider to save you, It was so... strange, It seemed like maybe it was something that hasn't happened yet" Cece rain her fingers through her hair nervously "I don't know, that sounds absolutely crazy but it is the only thing I can think to be true."  
  
"If Emily is still in Dunwall, we have to go back and get her" Marcus interrupted Corvo's train of thought with a loud throat clear  
  
"What about what's been going on here in Morley?" He asked, stepping forward "People are disappearing, tears in reality just opening up"  
  
"Are you suggesting we just let Emily..." Corvo began  
  
"I'm suggesting that we get to the bottom of whatever is going on because Emily is capable of taking care of herself"  
  
"I'm her royal protector, it is my job to protect the Empress and it is my job to protect my daughter" Corvo rose from the couch  
  
"Will you two stop bickering!" Cece shouted "If we spent this time trying to figure out what is going on instead of you two spending it bickering, we might have been able to find something! Who knows what is happening to these people. This is no time to fight about who has the better idea"  
  
Corvo sighed and relaxed his shoulders, "She's right" He said, "We owe it to ourselves and the people of Morley to see this through and..." He looked to Marcus, "Emily is a good person, Marcus, she was not lying for bad reasons. She was protecting herself from the Abbey"  
  
Marcus didn't turn to look at the man, instead still staring at the fireplace "So you admit she is a heretic?" His words were too harsh, he almost felt sick saying them. Emily did nothing to him, why was he so angry?  
  
"Stop calling my daughter a heretic!" Corvo said, reaching for the sword attached to his hilt "She did what she had to do to stop Delilah! She took that mark because it was the only way to save her throne and I thank the damn stars she was able to do that!"  
  
"Wasn't Delilah marked by the Outsider as well?" Marcus asked an eyebrow raised, disappearing under his bangs  
  
"That was the rumor, anyhow"  
  
"What are you implying?" Corvo growled  
  
"I'm implying that if one person goes batshit crazy and tries to take over the world. Why wouldn't another, given the same set of circumstances?"  
  
"Emily is a better person than Delilah ever was. Don't you DARE insult my daughter that way!"  
  
Marcus nodded "Fine, I'll shut my mouth," He said with a shrug. Cecelia finally stood from her seated spot in a chair by the hallway entrance and grabbed Marcus by his arm "Can I have a word with you?" Before waiting for an answer she pulled him out into the hallway, making sure that Corvo wasn't still listening. She turned to him.  
  
"What has gotten into you?" She asked "Corvo is Emily's father, and he can help us. I thought you wanted to figure out what was going on here"  
  
"I do"  
  
"Then why are you acting like a spoiled little child?"  
  
"Emily is a-" Marcus began  
  
"If you say heretic one more time I'm going to turn you in at the abbey, Go out there and have a civil conversation with the Royal Protector, We need him, the people of Morley need him. This is petty and childish and you know it"  
  
"Fine, I'll go back out there and be civil to the man who just tried to kill me"  
  
Cece rolled her eyes "If he wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead"  
  
The two came back into the room, Corvo was looking out the window and Cece took her seat again.  Marcus cleared his throat  
  
"Tell me," He said, stepping forward and crossing his arms "How exactly did sleeping with the God of the Void help her get her throne back?"  
  
Corvo didn't turn to face him but his hand was poised over his hilt again "She formed a relationship with him that went well beyond the mark.  But it isn't my job to defend her relationship"  
  
"Her relationship is the reason I'm even here! I'm going to be disowned by my family because of her relationship!" Marcus pressed his face into his hands, there it was, the reason he was so upset.  He knew that without Emily, without even the promise of a fake marriage, he would be thrown out by his family and there would be no hope for him in Morley.  
  
Corvo rested his hand, no longer reaching for the sword "Is that why you are angry? Marcus...." He said a little more gently "I'm sure Emily would help you still"  
  
Marcus shook his head and crossed over to the other side of the room, not for any particular reason, he just seemed unable to stay in one place for very long. "I don't know that she would.  Oliver was jealous"  
  
"He was what?" Corvo said, barely able to keep a grin from creasing his lips  
  
"Jealous, of me.  Emily explained that it was a fake engagement and he still seemed to be unhappy with it. I overheard them talking about it in the hall before all of... this happened"  
  
"I'm sorry," Corvo said "I just can't imagine the man I knew and spoke to in the void as anything but... mysterious and a tad bit annoying"  
  
Marcus looked at him "You too?"  
  
Corvo walked over to Marcus, putting his arm around him and sitting him down on the couch "I think it's time I tell you my story"  
  
  
  
"Are you quite sure you haven't broken out of prison before?" Oswinna asked as the two of them snuck through Coldridge in the shadows.  
  
"I'm sure if I had, I'd be better at it. Now, will you keep quiet?" Emily replied  
  
"What? Are you afraid these lugheads will hear us? They can't hear anything.  Don't matter if they do either, we can outrun em" Oswinna smugly declared. Her tone led Emily to believe that she had experience in the matter  
  
"Even so," Emily said, leaning against a wall and peering out to check for guards, They had been sneaking around for quite some time.  "I would rather not get caught and thrown in the torture room"  
  
Coldridge wasn't the largest prison in the isles but it was reportedly the most secure, though Emily knew that wasn't true.  If it was so secure, why were there so many breakouts through the recent years?  
  
A noise started Emily out of her thoughts, two guards coming through to patrol the hallways, Emily and Oswinna both inched back along the wall so as not to get spotted "Shit, shit, shit" Oswinna said  
  
"Keep your voice down!" Emily hissed as the two of them carefully snuck through as the guard was passing, they ducked behind a stack of old crates in the next room.  Emily wondered what they had been used for when she saw a plaque answering her unasked question.  It read "Heretical Artifacts"  
  
She indicated the crates "This must have been where the runes and bone charms they took off prisoners ended up.  What do they do with them?"  
  
Oswinna shrugged "Probably throw em in an incinerator. The Abbey really doesn't like runes and the like laying around"  
  
"Seems like they don't keep them locked up and away from people who could tamper with them either"  
  
Oswinna shrugged, looking at the crates "Maybe they play games with them, use em in magical rituals"  She laughed "Imagine these idiots just playing dice with them and then the next day they get cursed!"  
  
"I don't know about any of that" Emily said with a hint of defense in her voice  
  
"You don't believe in all that curse mumbo The Abbey preaches?"  
  
Emily shook her head "Don't get me wrong, I greatly respect The Abbey and their teachings, but I don't know if I believe these things are cursed."  
  
Oswinna looked at the crate near the bottom, it was cracked "Have you ever seen one?"  
  
"When I was a child, I found one washed up on the riverbank, It was covered in some mud... and I remember hearing a tale that some runes were lucky so I put it under my pillow for good luck.  I ended up having nightmares"  
  
"Shit" Oswinna replied, bending lower to try to pry the crate open enough to pick one of the runes out  
  
"It wasn't so bad, I don't know if I was getting nightmares from the rune or just from...."  
  
Oswinna wasn't listening, Emily trailed off.  She didn't want to get into a discussion about her traumatic childhood with a near stranger.  
  
"We need to keep moving"  
  
Oswinna waved her hand at her "In a minute, I'm trying to get one of these"  
  
"Why do you need a rune?"  
  
"I don't need one, but I want one. I used to collect them"  
  
"You used to collect runes?!" Emily asked incredulously "Weren't you afraid that you'd get turned in?"  
  
"Yeah I mean obviously, but I had good hiding places and the Abbey never really came to my old neighborhood."  
  
"Your old neighborhood?" Emily asked, peeking out from behind the crates to make sure the coast was clear of guards  
  
"I lived in the slums man" Oswinna gave up trying to get at the rune and peered over the crates as well "I grew up poor, I didn't have any food, barely had any clothes and I remember running around with some of the other urchin kids"  
  
She closed her eyes, almost as if she were picturing her memories "I used to know this kid, her name was Deirdre. She was my best friend. She stole food for me, clothes, she's the reason I'm alive today, she even introduced me to my first boyfriend"  
  
Oswinna smiled "I can't remember his name now, but he was two years older than me and his clothes were less ratty than any of the other kids.  He was thin enough to slip between fences and steal some of the rich people's crap."  
  
"Do you have any idea where they are now?" Emily asked  
  
"Deirdre was killed. She was fucking murdered by Luca Abele's brother when they were coming through this shithole.  Luca egged on his stupid brother and someone got killed because of it. I saw the whole goddamn thing."  
  
"You were there?"  
  
Oswinna shifted uncomfortably against the crates "I was walking through, looking for shit to eat and I overheard yelling and teasing.  These guys were mocking Deirdre and some other girl. Laughing at them for being homeless and poor... and he swung at her, her skull cracked open and she died."  
  
"Oh my god" Emily gasped "That's horrible!"  
  
Oswinna looked down "I don't know why but when it happened I froze, I couldn't move. I wanted to run out there screaming.  The street kids, we all knew each other, even if only in passing. We all protect each other and when I saw her killed I felt like I lost a sister."  
  
Emily placed a hand on Oswinna's shoulder as the woman started to cry "Everything that happened after was a blur, the girl she was with... She fucking killed the Duke's brother. She stabbed him with one of the stupid ornamental gazelle's the coach had"  
  
"How did you know it was the Duke and his brother?" Emily asked  
  
"Because it was in all the papers. They left out the part where his brother killed an innocent child but made it seem like the poor girl who killed him was a monster" She looked away "I can't talk about this anymore, I feel sick"  
  
Emily nodded "I understand, I'm sorry I... I didn't mean to make you remember such a horrible experience"  
  
"It's not your fault" She assured Emily "It's part of who I am, I'm haunted by the shit I didn't do that day. I don't even know if it would have made a difference.  Nobody gave a shit about us, we were all dead weight to anyone.  Turning their noses up at us. I can't even believe I made it to where I am now. When Deirdre was killed I... ran... I was covered in the Luca's brothers blood.  It splattered everywhere.  I ran back to my shithole alley where I holed up and I threw up, I couldn't stop throwing up, heaving back sobs.   I even thought about ways to off myself.  Deirdre was one of the only real friends I had made there on the streets."  
  
They sat in silence for what seemed to Emily like ages, she was thinking about Oswinna's story and how disgusted she was. She knew that Luca Abele had been a terrible man, but she had no idea about what he and his brother had done. When she was facing off against Delilah, she had only learned that Luca's brother had been killed, but now with more pieces of the story... She was stunned.  
  
Who was the child that had killed him? Where was she now?  
  
After the silence ended, and three guards came through to patrol. Emily and Oswinna finally started to move again, it was a slow process and they often had to duck out of the way if they saw a guard coming by.  What could have taken hours felt like it was taking days.  How did her father do this?    
  
At long last, they managed to sneak down into the basement. Emily turned to Oswinna "Where is this tunnel you were talking about?"  Oswinna replied by shrugging and scratching her head  
  
"I'm uh, I'm not sure where I put it.  Maybe they covered it up?"  
  
"Did you even dig a tunnel?" Emily asked  
  
"Why would I lie? You ain't got nothing I want"  
  
"How do you explain that there's no tunnel?"  
  
"I don't know, Princess.  They filled it up with something? I don't know why you're so paranoid and untrusting"  
  
"You're in prison, Oswinna," Emily said, deadpan  
  
"That's a bit judgemental, don't you think?" Oswinna asked as she started to push boxes out of the way in an attempt to uncover her supposed tunnel "Help me out or don't.  But don't stand there pretending you ain't in prison as well"  
  
"For something I didn't do" Emily corrected.  But she moved to help Oswinna all the same.  They spent time moving old boxes and crates, some of them were completely rotted through.  She was certain she'd be covered in dirt and mold by the end of this.  
  
  
Oliver and Tork made their way through the halls of Coldridge, at first they had been sneaking but Tork started to grow impatient with the slow movements and more than once he was spotted by a guard or two.  Eventually, due to his impatience, he simply started to walk freely through the halls and knocking out the guards.  Oliver felt a bit uncomfortable, looking up at his large friend he asked "Is all this violence really necessary?"  
  
Tork paused as he gave it a thought, nodding a moment later. "I'm too big to hide, they'll never see me if they are unconscious"  
  
Oliver gave him a thumbs up "Sound logic"  
  
Tork tilted his head in confusion "What's that Boss?"  
  
Oliver sighed "Nevermind, let's just keep going. Where is this basement anyway?"  
  
"Dunno" Tork said, scratching his big head  
  
"What do you mean you don't know?" Oliver asked with a tired groan  
  
"And they say I'm the dumb one," Tork said with a chuckle  
  
"We need to know where it is if we're going to get out of here!" Oliver hissed, He started to feel his headache.  That was an odd feeling. He had been experiencing a lot of odd things that he shouldn't have been and he felt his connection to the Void fading more and more with each step.  What was happening to him?  
  
"Okay we look around, We'll know we find it if we find stairs," Tork said, peering into some of the rooms lining the halls "What's with all the crates everywhere?"  
  
"They confiscate things from the prisoners.  All the ones I've seen so far are runes and bone charms"  
  
"I hear those things are magical, witches do spells with them. People use them to contact the Outsider. Like a gift or something" Tork punched one of the crates and grabbed a rune out, turning it over in his overly large hand "It's cool"  
  
Oliver elbowed the man in the arm and grabbed the rune "Will you knock it off? We aren't here to pilfer, we are here to escape"  He looked down at the rune in his hand... the mark.... His eyes started to blur and he heard echoes far off in the distance  
  
"There's another way," She said, urging her companion to listen to her "He doesn't have to die.  I found notes that say that his name... It can save him, but only the dead can read it"  
  
"What do you mean?" The man spoke  
  
"The mark! The mark is his name!"  
  
The sound of footsteps, the sound of screaming.  Oliver's head felt as though it were splitting in half as he fainted, his body slamming roughly to the floor of the prison.  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With Oswinna, I didn't intend for her to be connected with Deirdre as a childhood friend or have seen the events that killed the Duke's brother, but it really fits with her character and will come in handy later on as well.
> 
> Some of the dialogue from Oliver's "vision" of the conversation Billie and Daud have nearing the end of DOTO in the ritual hold is paraphrased because I'm too lazy to look it up.


	26. In Search of The Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the prison bound escape, Marcus and Cece team up with Corvo to uncover the truth about Morley

**Warning: Implied PTSD like flashbacks depicting abuse in the Outsiders past, If you suffer from PTSD from circumstances similarly described (kidnapping, abusers and etc) please read with caution.**  
  
____________  
  
  
"Why are you even here?" Marcus asked as Corvo pulled the curtains shut and turned to face him  
  
"It's a long story, but I think I know what's been going on. These disappearances, these strange occurrences that are rumored to be happening.  I think it ties in with something that happened years ago.  Anton Sokolov and Jessamine Kaldwin had come here."  
  
Cece perked up, her eyebrows raised as she looked away from the floor and at Corvo "The former Empress?"  
  
"Yes.  They came here to discover something.  They were on a research project together and it led them here.  They came to question a man who wrote a book on the Void and the Outsider"  
  
"The Empress of the Isles was involved with investigating heretical mysteries?" Marcus asked  
  
"Wouldn't be the first time" Corvo said with a sigh "When Jessamine had told me she was going with Anton, I thought she was losing her mind... but, I had started reading her journals and notes on the investigation and... I sent a letter to Anton months back to ask for his notes on the project, Jessamine's journal and these notes... there was something left behind, some kind of mistake.. Like they left open a door or something"  
  
"Would that explain these strange tears?" Cece asked  
  
"I don't... know" Corvo shrugged "Anton would know better than I would" He started to pace around the small room, it was rather amusing watching the bulking figure of the man walking delicately around the small room so as to avoid the delicate decorations lining the apartment.  
  
"I don't think so" He finally concluded "It feels strange, but I don't believe Anton's studies or whatever happened with their research all those years ago has anything to do with whatever you saw here"  
  
"Why not?" Cece responded "It would make perfect sense"  
  
"Whatever Anton and Jess did here... It seems that it was specific to the place they were, this place.  Morley seemed to be the only place affected by these occurrences."  
  
Corvo slumped back onto the couch and rubbed his eyes with his hands "Those tears... The way you described it, it almost reminds me of something Emily related to me, she had told me she saw something rather similar during Delilah's coup"  
  
Marcus sat up straighter, his eyes dead set on Corvo "She told me that when she had traveled to Aramis Stilton's manor that... there were strange little flickers in reality.  Like a hole in the world or something, I didn't really give it much thought but maybe when Delilah cheated death, she broke something"  
  
"Cheated death?" Marcus asked  
  
"She was killed, years ago by an assassin named Daud... Well trapped, more like.  Trapped in the Void, but she found a way out somehow"  
  
"That's impossible," Cece said slowly "The Void is where you go when you die, some spirits are trapped there for all eternity and beyond"  
  
Marcus scoffed "Who even says this Void place is real?"  
  
"You heard my story," Corvo said, eyeing him "I was there, I saw the whales floating in the sky and the way nothing made sense... I couldn't make that up"  
  
Cece frowned "What are we dealing with here?  The remnants of a broken witch or... whatever Anton did?"  
  
"I don't know" Corvo sighed "And that's what scares me.   We need to find the place they were, we need to find out where their research took them and what they did next.  I've gotten all I could out of Anton but he seemed reluctant to tell me exactly where this place is."    
  
Marcus closed his eyes "How is this going to help anything going on in Dunwall?"  
  
Corvo responded with a chuckle "Bit slow on the uptake, aren't you?" Marcus raised an eyebrow  
  
"Emily had been looking into this, not enough though.  There were disappearances in Morley for quite a while, and it's always people who are important to society. Politicians, other statesmen... If Emily had paid close enough attention she would have figured out that they thought it was her causing all of this"  
  
"What are they blaming Emily for?" Marcus asked, looking over at Cece  
  
"Murder?" She offered  
  
Corvo sighed "I don't know, they believe she is involved. It's all part of this Free Dunwall movement that sprouted up.  The roots of the group are heavy in Morley"  
  
"I've never heard of anything like that" Marcus frowned  
  
"It's very secretive, made up of people who feel that the Empress is unfit in her rule.  They were mostly underground after Delilah's coup, I presume to wait for the right moment to come into the light and discredit Emily's name"  
  
"That's a lot of preparation," Cece said  
  
"I don't pretend to understand their motives if I'm being honest. Beyond discrediting the throne. But there's been things like that ever since Emily's coronation.  In all the research I've found about these people, they don't seem different than any of the other ones."  
  
"So what is their plan?" Marcus asked  
  
"I believe it's to eventually get Emily off the throne, they send an assassin to kill someone at the tower, get Emily blamed for this murder because if she were thrown in prison they wouldn't have to worry about her anymore"  
  
"That's awful," Cece said, "How did you find all this out?"  
  
"I have my own personal network of, well... " He shrugged "They don't like to be called spies but that's what they are.  Anyway, We shouldn't dally around here.  We've got to find this man that Anton and Jessamine's notes talk about."  
  
He picked up the bag he had dropped earlier on and peaked inside it, rifling through carefully.  "Ah yes, these notes." He took a pause to read them over again "We should head out for the investigation at first dark." He turned to open the curtains and look outside "That shouldn't be long now"  
  
He turned again to face the two of them, Marcus and Cece were both weary from the trip and from the unexpected supernatural occurrences.  They were covered in dirt and sweat "Are you up for this?" He asked them both, his face grave  
  
No words were spoken, just solemn nods.   "Then it's settled, at first dark, we will head out to look for the man who wrote this book, and through him, I hope we can find what Anton and Jess found."  
  
  
  
  
Oliver awoke to the hulking form of Tork bending over him, he tried to sit up but his head felt full of metal and kept sinking back down.  
  
"You okay?" Tork said, tilting his head to show his confusion at what just happened  
  
"I'm... sorry, I've been having these... visions" He felt the heaviness in his head leave and finally felt stable enough to push himself into a sitting position, they were still in the room with all the crates full of runes.  The soft hum was almost comforting.  
  
"Visions?" Tork asked and sat beside the young man "Like them psychic visions those mediums get?"  
  
"Not quite" Oliver let out a small laugh, his head pounded  
  
"What did you see?" Tork asked, his concern would be quite endearing if Oliver hadn't just spent the last near hour and a half being beaten up by the man.  
  
"Dark... all dark, but I heard voices saying there was another way.... something about saving... someone"  
  
Tork scratched his head "Wonder what that means?"  
  
"I don't know," Oliver said shaking his head "But I don't want want to sit here and wait to find out. We have to keep moving"   He made the mistake at this moment of trying to push himself to stand. He wobbled over and crashed to his knees, bone-shaking pain radiating through his knees and legs.  He felt like he was going to throw up.  
  
That's odd He thought _I've projected myself in the physical world before and sure,_ _I have felt pain but it was always a whisper compared to this._  
  
"You are in no shape to walk" Tork observed. "I'll carry you"  
  
"Tork no" Oliver said trying to stop the hulking shape from lifting him up "No Tork, I don't want to be carried"  
  
It happened again, but this time it was different.  His head started to pound, blood running down his face from his nose as all went dark.  
  
This was a different vision.  This was a long time ago  
  
_What do we do now?_ A woman asked, staring at the lifeless form of a body  
  
_We wait_ , a second person spoke. This time a man, _All signs point to this boy as being what we need._  
  
_But he's... nothing_ the woman said with a haughty tone he's a little beggar.  _You expect me to believe he's important?_  
  
_I expect you to listen to our studies, you know the prophecy, born under these stars... His birthplace, his looks even.. They fit, everything fits together so beautifully, so wonderfully.  This is what we have been waiting for._  
  
_If he's so special, why don't you carry him to the cage?_  
  
_Yes yes_ the man said, lifting the boy over his shoulders as he walked with the woman, they spoke more of some prophecy and old texts  
  
_There are those who are willing to give their whole lives to this cause_   chimed the woman's voice again  
  
_This boy will be one of them_ the man said smiling  
  
_Please_.... the faint sound of his own voice, scared and alone _Please, stop I...._  
  
_Did you hear that Elathor? He wishes for us to stop._ The woman's voice was full of mockery, it almost burned his ears  
  
_How quaint_ the man responded  
  
_Put me down!_ He shouted now _Put me down! I don't belong here! Put me down!_  
  
His screams echoed off the old walls, cold stone, and rotting wood but his pleas fell on deaf ears as they carried him through the cold and the dark.    
  
He felt conflicting physical sensations, he was being gently set down on the floor of the Coldridge prison by Tork who tried to calm him down, he was being roughly set upon an altar as a cold blade sliced into his throat, and he felt a warm hand touching his arm and a gentle smile.  
  
" _Billie_!" He screamed, a ringing started in his ears that built to the point he thought his head would explode. He covered his ears but the ringing was still there " **I DON'T BELONG HERE!** "  
  
As quickly as it had all began, it was over.  The knife came down to his neck and the blood spilled to the floor, the hand that led him to the light, and Tork put his arm around Oliver's smaller frame "Boss?" He asked gently.  Oliver, even in all his pain was surprised at the amount of compassion this man had for him now "Are you okay?"  
  
Oliver tried to pressures the feeling of sick rising in his stomach "Yes, Tork... We need to get out of here, fast.."  
  
"Where are we going when we get out, Boss?"  
  
Oliver looked up at the man weakly "We're going to find Daud like you wished. But, first... We need to get to Emily Kaldwin"  
  
"The Empress of the Isles?"  
  
"The same one" He smiled weakly "Help me up"  
  
Tork helped the weak man to his feet "We find Emily, we can end whatever this... is"  
  
"She'll know how to help your visions?"    
  
"She has a lot of interests outside of being the ruler of the Isles. Plus she was thrown in prison for a murder she didn't commit"  
  
Tork's eyes widened in horror "I was beating on you for no reason then!" He said putting his hand on his face, When he pulled it away Oliver saw that the man was actually crying.  
  
"I didn't wanna be this man,"  He said "I didn't want to make a living beating up people. Torturing them.  But it paid good coin and then I got a taste for beating up the real bad guys.  But you're not one of them Boss.  You're not anything like them."  
  
Oliver chuckled, as weak as he was he could still appreciate the man's change of heart "Tork, it's alright. I know that you aren't a bad man.  I know it's nothing personal"  
  
"We get out of here," Tork said, wiping at his nose and cleaning if off on his pant leg "I'm quitting, finding a new job"  
  
"I'll help you find a new job Tork, I owe you one"  
  
"You owe me?" Tork asked incredulously "I'm the one who's gotta make it up to you for all the things I've been putting you through"  
  
"Consider the debt paid in full, you're helping me escape. I wouldn't be able to do this without you"  He knew that was true, he was so weak and he felt like reality was falling apart around him and within him.  
  
Tork nodded and let Oliver use him as a crutch to lean against as they made their way to the hallway leading to the basement.   They passed no more guards in the halls, Oliver thought it was odd but his instincts told him that if there were no guards here, they must have been on the upper levels.    
  
They stopped at an old rusted metal door "This is it" Tork said, presenting it like it was a crown jewel "The basement door!"  
  
Oliver stepped forward, wobbling a little on his hurt leg and put his hand on the cold metal "It's rustier... than I would have expected"  
  
Tork shrugged "What do you expect? This building is old"  
  
Oliver tried to open the door but the handle wouldn't budge "It's stuck" He said, looking over at Tork.  Tork nodded and pushed him gently out of the way "Let me try" He said, His strength opened the door for sure, but in the process, he also ripped off the handle.  
  
Oliver eyed him and the handle "Uh, nice job there Tork."  
  
"Thanks, boss"  
  
He dropped the handle and the clanging noise echoed through the hallway and down into the basement.   Where the pair heard a noise.  Someone dropping something, and scurrying.  
  
"I heard something down there," Oliver said, stopping Tork from approaching the staircase, "I think there's someone down there" He furrowed his brow  
  
"Guards?"  
  
Oliver shook his head and picked up the metal handle, he intended to use it as a weapon if he had to.   Oliver and Tork carefully snuck down the stairs. Tork wasn't exactly the best at sneaking and Oliver was sure if there was anyone down there, they would have already hidden away.  
  
Oliver looked around the dingy basement, he had seen a lot of basements in his life.  He lived in a basement for a time, but this was one of the most disgusting he had ever seen.  Boxes stacked upon boxes, dirt, and mold covering the walls.  He shuddered.    
  
His thoughts were interrupted by Tork's large frame slamming right into him. "Ow," He grunted.  
  
"Sorry, Boss.  You okay?" Tork asked  
  
Oliver rubbed his arm "Yeah, I'm fine.  Do you mind not walking into me?"  
  
"Of course, Boss"  
  
Oliver patted Tork on the shoulder, the man looked around and took in their surroundings "I don't think there is anyone down here, It looks empty."  
  
Before Oliver could react, Tork was proven wrong by the slight sound of a bump behind one of the stacks of boxes.  
  
"Be quiet you idiot!" One voice hissed  
  
"I could just come out there and whack 'em on the heads" Another voice, barely whispering.  
  
Oliver took a few steps cautious steps forward.  Holding his hand up to let Tork know to stay put.  "Hello?" he asked the boxes  
  
"Great," the first voice said, "Now we're going to get murdered by another prisoner-"  
  
"Emily?" Oliver asked, surprise lacing his voice.  Emily rose from the stack of boxes, she smiled when she spotted him.  Stumbling over the boxes she flung herself into a hug. "Oliver!" She said "I was so worried about you" She hugged him tighter.     
  
He didn't exactly know how to react to the physical contact.  It was strange, but he almost felt it more than he did before. It felt real.  
Before he could react, before he could speak.  It happened again.  
  
We let you live Billie Lurk's voice echoed around the Ritual Hold as emotions overwhelmed him. I can take you out of here.  She put her hand on his arm.  Touch, real touch.  
  
"Oliver?" Emily's voice swam in and out of his ears.  She sounded really far away.  He reached out to her but her face disappeared from his vision and all he could see was another face.  Not Emily's, not Billie's.  
  
But the face of the man who killed him  
  
_"We are but small infinitesimal beings on this plane. This is what I wish you to understand, child"_  
  
Oliver felt fear, true fear overcoming his body. He was unable to move.  This wasn't real, this wasn't right.  
  
He screamed  
  
_"Now child, be patient.  All of this will become clear. All of this will become more. We will all be enlightened. Envisioned."_  
  
_"I do not want to be envisioned!"_  
  
_"You do not have a choice in the matter, my child"_  
  
_"Because you aren't giving me a choice!"_ He felt his throat, it was dry and raw as if he had screamed for a while.  Yelling hurt, but he couldn't stop.    
  
The man leaned in closer to Oliver, He could feel his hot breath.  He shuddered _"Stop fighting your destiny, this is fate."_  
  
Fate, fate, fate the word echoed in his mind and he felt himself slipping away.  
  


  
  
"His name is Barnoli Mulani, and he wrote several studies on the Void and how to reach it in a waking state." Corvo said as the three prepared to leave the little home "When one accesses one of the Outsider's shrines they are entered into the Void through some sort of sleep. They are mesmerized there at the shrine, they never actually leave."  
  
"How do you know this?" Cece asked, trying to brush her hair with her fingers as it had gotten ratty when she let it dry by air  
  
"I had to be very careful in my studies because I am the royal protector and any inkling that I am doing something such as this, the high overseer will have my head. I hope I can count on your secrecy in these matters"  
  
Marcus touched Corvo's arm "Look, Corvo, I know that I haven't been great.... I know that what I said about your daughter was awful and based only on my own insecurities and fear.  I want you to know that you can trust me, and Cecelia, I want to save Morley, I want to save Emily and I want to end whatever is happening."  
  
Corvo nodded "You are a fine young man Marcus"  
  
"So they don't leave the physical world?" Cece asked, interrupting the two and their bonding moment  
  
"No," Corvo said shaking his head and peering back at the notes "They don't, It's basically a dream state that one is in when they visit the Void.  But.... these notes and Barnoli's studies on the subject suggest that the Void is a real place and try to figure where it is and how to get there without being in that dream-like state"  
  
"It was a really early and unproven theory.  Many before Barnoli had studied this but those studies have been either lost to time or locked up by the Abbey, all I know is that Anton and Jessamine had read the studies before.  Anton I believe, didn't buy that the Void could be a real place, but he wished to investigate anyway."  
  
"How did he get the Empress interested in such a thing?" Cecelia asked  
  
"One of her hobbies was study, her fields of study varied and she was interested in the study of the occult.  It was a secret she kept quite locked up for fear of The Abbey's response.  It was never that she was into dark magic or anything of the sort, but she had a fondness for mystery.  So when Anton proposed this field study, she couldn't pass it up"  
  
He turned to the two "We should head out to find Barnoli, his house is listed in these notes. I'm not sure how up to date the address is, but I suppose we'll find out when we get there"  He pushed open the little door to the home and walked out onto the cobbled streets of Morley.  
  
The two followed, Marcus carrying one of the packs they had brought slung over his shoulder. "What are you going to say to him?" He asked Corvo, who was checking something on a map he had unfolded  
  
"I'm going to ask him about Anton and Jessamine and what they were studying, and where exactly their studies took them. Once we find that, we may find a way to end this"  
  
"Corvo!" Marcus yelled, "Out of the way!"  
  
Suddenly, as if it had appeared out of nowhere an errant carriage came crashing around the corner, nearly smashing into the three of them.  They jumped out of the way before it could hit and it ran right through the old woman's home.  Before they could even react, the carriage and the home itself were swallowed into a tear, not unlike the one Marcus and Cecelia had seen earlier.  
  
Corvo stood and brushed the dust off his clothes, smoothing them out and reaching for his map, which had landed on the ground. "We need to go find Barnoli and _soon_.  This is getting worse"  
  



	27. On These Waters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corvo races to uncover the mystery of the Void while Emily and her companions risk their lives to get to Morley.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! I've been struggling with chronic pain and life has generally been unfun and I haven't been in the mood to write at all, there's only a couple more chapters to go for this fic and it'll end with a bang! When it's finished, the new In All Prisms series (Some of which has been put up with placeholder or preview text) will begin, so make sure to bookmark those if you want to see the continued adventures of Emily and her friends. Since it has placeholder text I'll just be editing the text to what the first chapter will be when I get to that point.

Emily had her work cut out for her, escaping from the prison while hauling Oliver's unconscious body with her, Tork and Oswinna trailing behind her.  They had made it through the tunnel and ended up near the sewer entrance.  Emily didn't relish the idea of heading into the sewers but it wouldn't take long for them to realize four people were missing from the prison.  Tork wrenched the grate off the sewer entrance and they went inside one by one  
  
"Be careful not to hit him on his head" Emily said as Tork came through with Oliver, he was carrying him over his shoulder but had to crouch down to get into the sewers  
  
Once they found a place to rest, a place Emily was thankful for as it was high enough so the three didn't have to crouch anymore. She had Tork lay Oliver down on the dirty sewer floor.  She cringed.  It's not like she had a choice.  
  
"He did this earlier too," Tork said, frowning while looking at the lifeless form of Oliver, Emily put her hand on his forehead and looked at Tork "What's happened to him?"  
  
"All I know is that he was complaining of... visions or something. Memories. He also snapped his ankle a little bit back there"  
  
Oswinna looked at Emily "Who is this exactly?" she jerked her head in the direction of Oliver.  
  
Emily sat straight against the boxes and took a breath "He's a friend"  
  
Oswinna raised an eyebrow "Ooo, a friend" She nudged Emily in the side  "You got yourself a right little hottie, haven't you?"  
  
Emily glared at her "Oswinna!"  
  
Tork's hulking frame in the corner moved as he chuckled heavily "Boss kept saying he was looking for you, I didn't know it was because you were lovers"  
  
"We are not lovers!" Emily said through clenched teeth  
  
Oswinna laughed, it was a nearing a high pitched squeal "Right, Okay"  
  
The three of them waited in a silence occasionally broken by the sound of water dripping from above and the light squeak of rats.  
  
"Those things creep me out" Oswinna said, trying to keep her legs from dangling over the edge of the discarded luggage she was seated atop  
  
"Why?" Emily asked "It's not as if they carry the plague anymore"  
  
Oswinna shrugged "Yeah, but it's kind of hard to look at them and see anything but little disease carriers"  
  
Emily admitted, she had a point.  It took her a long time to be okay looking at rats again after the plague, People were afraid for a long time after Piero and Anton had cured the plague.   But she thought the scariest thing about the plague was the weepers.  Sometimes she still had nightmares.  
  
She looked at Oswinna, this woman had been through a lot of hardships in her life, had starved, had lived on the streets, had watched people die.  She didn't deserve any of that.  "When all of this is over Oswinna, you want to come with me?"  
  
Os turned her head "Excuse me?"  
  
Emily nodded "Yes, come with me.  Be free from Coldridge. I could pardon you"  
  
"You don't even know what I did, what if I'm a horrible murderer who deserves to be thrown into the river?"  
  
"I somehow doubt that," Emily said  
  
Their exchange was interrupted by groaning coming from the previously unconscious Oliver, he tried to lift his head up slowly.  
  
"No no no," Emily said "Don't do that, stay still"  
  
"Where.... am I?" He ignored Emily's warnings and pushed himself into an uneasy seated position, looking around, he grimaced "Ugh, the sewers?"  
  
"We escaped from Coldridge," Oswinna said "Sewers was the easiest place to hide"  
  
"This reminds of some of my favorite childhood haunts," Oliver said, Emily caught the sarcasm in his voice and laughed  
  
"Since your up, we can get out here," She said, standing and brushing her clothes off.  
  
"No arguments here," Oswinna said, "But how do we get out?"  
  
"There's an entrance back this way for the maintenance workers of the city," Emily said, she didn't know this from experience, but she had been told by her father who had regaled her with the tale of his heroic escape from Coldridge all those years before.  
  
Tork helped Oliver to stand and supported him as they walked to the other side of the large room in search of the exit door.  
  
"Ew!" Oswinna screamed, "A rat ran across my foot!"  
  
"Just ignore it Os," Emily said "We're almost there"  
  
"I don't know how you think I'm going to get very far on this foot," Oliver said "I twisted my ankle back there and it's getting worse"  
  
Emily put up her hand to stop everyone from walking for a moment "Hold on" She ripped off a large section of the prisoner outfit's pants she was donned with and motioned for Oliver to sit down, He did this with a lot of resistance as he would be sitting in sewer mud.  When he finally complied she pushed up the pant leg of his own outfit over his ankle and carefully took his shoes off, this earned a wince or two from him as he grit his teeth.  
  
"Be still" She said, wrapping the cloth around his ankle as tightly as she could manage "This isn't going to hold, someone else rip a sleeve or something"  
  
Oswinna tore off the entire arm of her outfit and handed it over with a smile "I don't know about you, but I'm glad to be rid of even a bit of that nasty little reminder I'm still in here" Emily took the sleeve without looking and smirked at Oswinna's musings  
  
She wrapped this one as tightly as the first and tied it underneath so it wouldn't come loose while Oliver was walking.  She pulled down the trouser leg and helped him to his feet "Don't put any weight on your foot" She said  
  
"How am I supposed to walk?"  
  
"Tork, Os, can you help support him?" She asked the two figures in front of her, who nodded.  Oswinna looked a little annoyed but Tork looked as if he was glad to do it.  The two of them helped Oliver, both supporting him and making sure his injured foot didn't touch the ground.  Emily left the boot sitting there in the river mud and sewer water  
  
"There's no point taking that with us," She said as they started moving again "It'll just slow us down and they took my bag which had extra clothes in it"  
  
"I don't exactly think we're inconspicuous here," Oliver said, grunting as Tork and Oswinna guided him through to the door "Shit" Oswinna said "This thing is locked, Empress"  
  
"Don't worry about that" Emily said "I can pick a lock or two"  
  
"Yes, back at the cage fest," She said "But this is a better lock"  
  
Oliver laughed at this one "You expect me to believe a sewer maintenance door had a better locking mechanism than a high-security prison?"  
  
"Trust me, kid, I know what I'm talking about here.  The locks at Coldridge are so fucking easy to pick I don't know why there are ever any prisoners"  
  
Emily kneeled down in front of the door and peered at the lock "Just what I thought, an Anton Sokolov creation"  She shook her head "This will be a piece of cake, I used to pick Anton's locks when I was a kid and he explained the theory to me about how it works."  
  
"Anton Sokolov?" Oswinna said "smartest man in the empire?"  
  
Oliver snorted derisively and Emily shot him a glare over her shoulder "Oliver" He quickly tried to cover up his snort with a loud cough.  
  
Emily shook her head and turned back to the lock, she picked the pin out of her hair that she had used on the previous lock and split it into two, Anton created a lot in his years but this specific lock had two entry points that you had to put pressure on at the exact same time.  It was a lock from his older series and heavily out of date compared to the locks he had made for Dunwall Tower.  
  
She was able to push the pins in at just the right angle so the lock clicked and the door opened, she stood and stuck the pin into her remaining trouser leg. "After you," She said, motioning for Tork and Oswinna to assist Oliver past the threshold.  
  
* * * *  
  
The three had no time to recover from the shock of the carriage coming out of nowhere, they had to keep moving.  Corvo was limping as they made their way through the streets of Morley and night had blanketed them in darkness.  
  
"Are you okay Corvo?" Cece asked  
  
He grunted in response "I think I twisted an ankle back there jumping out of the way"  
  
He looked down at the paper he was holding, and then looked back up with a frown "It looks like this may be the place we find Barnoli"  The three were standing in front of a rather run down looking apartment building.    
  
"Are you sure?" Marcus said "it looks like nobody has set foot here in months"  
  
"Well, even if Barnoli isn't here, we might be able to find out where he's gone"  
  
"Don't you think that this man who wrote about the Void would be in trouble with The Abbey? What if they got to him?" Cece asked, taking a seat on the stairs of the apartment  
  
"The Abbey condemns study into the Void, Barnoli wrote four volumes of his novel.  He was pretty invested in uncovering what he believes to be the truth" He looked at the building "It's possible the Abbey got to him a long time ago, but we'll never know until we go inside"  
  
"It might not be that easy," Cecelia said from the stairs, she was kneeling towards the door and peering inside "It's locked, but the locks seem to be attached to traps inside the house. If someone even tries to pick the lock...." she mimicked the sound of an explosion  
  
"Damn it," Corvo said "Let me see" He pushed himself to his knees as Cecelia stood to move out of the way  
  
"Yeah, the front door isn't going to work. This place is rigged to blow if someone even tries.  There must be someone here, why go through all the trouble of the traps for an empty house?"  
  
"But if it's Barnoli, what has him so spooked?" Marcus asked  
  
"Nothing we can't handle,"  Corvo said, "Here, I know how to get in."  
  
"How?" Cece asked  
  
Corvo ripped part of his shirt, wrapping it around his hand several times before punching his hand through the window, glass shattered and fell to the ground and Corvo pulled his hand back and winced "Shit"  He wrapped the cloth tighter around his hand "I'm going to need someone to climb in the window and undo the traps"  
  
"I can do it," Cece said  
  
"Are you sure?" Corvo asked her, putting a hand on her shoulder "I don't want you to put yourself in danger for this Cecelia"  
  
"If I can survive the rat plague, I can do this" She assured him, he nodded and moved aside to let her climb through the window, broken glass cutting into different parts of her body as she did so, she was in there for a few moments before the door opened and she grinned "They are fixed, I don't know if there are any other traps around here, but lets just be careful where we walk"  
  
She beckoned Corvo and Marcus to come inside, Corvo tightened the cloth around his bleeding hand "There's no power here" He said "No lamps, no nothing.  I can't see a damn thing"  
  
"I don't think we need to go very far to find Barnoli," Marcus said  
  
"What?" Corvo asked, looking around "What do you mean?"  
  
"He's there" Cece pointed up ahead, Barnoli was tightly bound to a chair, blood dripping from his head onto the floor.  
  
* * * *  
  
"We need to find my father," Emily said, the gang had come out right near the docks. Emily felt like it was months ago that she had first tried to get here.  She looked around "Marcus and Cecelia are probably in Morley by now"  
  
Oswinna stretched her arms "I gotta tell you, I feel so much better now than I was being scrunched up in those sewers, and fewer rats too."  
  
"I wouldn't bet on it," Oliver said as a group of rats squeaked by, Oswinna screamed and Oliver glared at her "Quiet!" He hissed "We're fugitives who just escaped from prison and you're going to scream like that?"  
  
"Sorry" She responded, her voice hushed  
  
Emily chuckled lightly "We have to find a boat, and get to my father"  She turned to Tork and Oswinna, "I think it would be best if you two stayed behind, the fewer people who can die on the ocean, the better"  
  
Tork stood by Oliver and put his arm around him roughly, making Oliver buckle a little bit while standing "No, I know you are the Empress but I will not leave the boss"  
  
Oswinna shook her head "I have to agree with bighead over here, we have nowhere to hide here. They're gonna be looking for us"  
  
Emily groaned "I can't keep an eye on both of you and me and Oliver"  
  
"We have to come with you," Oswinna said "We've gone this far, we're fugitives from the law, Empress. Wherever you go, we're going"  Tork nodded and gripped Oliver closer to him, the man looked like he was being crushed by Tork's abnormal strength.  
  
"Fine, we'll all go.  Let's get a skiff and get out of here.  We've got to get to Morley, and fast" Emily lowered herself down into a skiff closest to the docks and waited for Tork and Oswinna to help Oliver in.  Tork scratched his head "Huh, I know what I said a minute ago but this thing looks like it's barely going to fit you three, I think I need to stay behind"  
  
Oliver looked up at him from the skiff and frowned "Where will you go?"  
  
"I'll figure it out, I'm a smart tough sort, if anyone tries anything. I'll beat em up." Tork responded as Oswinna lowered herself onto the skiff.  Tork was right, Emily thought, it was getting crowded with just the three of them. She nodded at Tork "Stay safe, and thank you, Tork, thank you for everything"  
  
He did a bow, which looked strange considering his bulky build.  Emily leaned over to pick the lock on the controls for the skiff and started the engine.  She turned to watch the docks, and Dunwall growing smaller.  
  
"It's going to take us about four weeks to get to Morley from here," She said matter-of-factly as the skiff roared across the water "Maybe longer"  
  
"Weeks?" Oswinna asked incredulously "We ain't got weeks, Empress"  
  
"Well I can't make time go any faster, if you have a better idea, I'd love to hear it," She said, Oswinna slumped her shoulders "No I don't"  
  
"Look, I don't like this any more than you do, but this is the only way to get to Morley, and to my father"  
  
"It may not be the only way," Oliver said suddenly, looking at the waves of the sea. He leaned into Emily and whispered something in her ear "What?!" Emily reacted "No, I can't do that!"  
  
Oliver gave her a meaningful look and whispered: "You want to get us there or not?" She relented and nodded to Oliver who turned his attention to Oswinna  
  
"Hey Ozzy," He said "Look out over there" He pointed out to the sea  
  
"Where?" She looked  
  
"There!" Oliver said, "There's a whale!"  
  
"I don't see a whale," Oswinna said "Where is it?"  
  
Emily was struggling to get her crossbow lined up with sleeping darts before Oswinna got wise to their scheme  
  
"There's a whale right over there," Oliver said, keeping Oswinna looking in the direction he was pointing by placing a hand on her shoulder and turning her body away from Emily  
  
Emily finally got the bow loaded up and cringed, she whispered "I'm sorry Oswinna" and shot her in the arm  
  
The sleeping dart sunk snugly into her skin and she turned around "Wha...what?" she asked before collapsing into Oliver's lap.  
  
Emily looked at him "I didn't like doing that"  
  
"Yes, neither did I, but I can't have her awake for what I'm about to do. I'm losing my connection with the Void, Emily, I don't know how or why but it's fading, and fast, but I think I have enough power to get us to Morley in less than weeks"  
  
"How much less?"  
  
"Minutes. But this is going to take a lot out of me, you may have to leave me behind while you look for Corvo"  
  
"We'll see how this goes, maybe you'll just need some health elixir"  
  
Oliver's features scrunched up "I've never had that, and I've never needed it." He shook his head "Whatever is happening Emily, this is bigger than Dunwall, bigger than Morley"  
  
"What do you mean?"  She asked  
  
"I mean I can't see it, but something big is happening, something that is going to change the world"  
  
"What do you mean you can't see it? Is it because your connection to the Void is losing its strength?" She asked, tapping on the side of the skiff nervously as they sailed over the choppy waters of Dunwall  
  
"My omniscience, it's limited. I can see cause and consequence but... Sometimes it's muddy, it's why I couldn't see what Delilah was planning before she broke out of the Void, I think it has to do with me.  If it involves me, I can't see it."  
  
"So you think this big event is going to involve you?"  
  
"It has to, I can't see it, it's all dark and I don't understand.  But this... this lost connection with the Void, it feels like it's seeping out of my mind, like a..."  
  
"A dream that you're forgetting"  
  
He chuckled, a bitter laugh that sent chills down Emily's spine "I only wish the Void had been a dream"  
  
"Okay," Emily said softly, reaching out to touch his arm, Oswinna was asleep with her head laying against his legs "I'm ready for this, whatever you have to do, do it"  
  
Oliver took a deep breath "I don't even know if this is going to work, I feel strange, Like... a normal person"  
  
"We'll figure this out, I promise you that. I won't let anything happen to you" Emily said, grasping his hand tightly  
  
He nodded and closed his eyes, Emily watched him extend out his hand as if he was reaching for something far away, what looked like a blue flame was circling his hand and arm and the skiff started to sway on the water.  Emily grabbed and held onto the edge to keep herself from rocking back and forth.  
  
The ocean seemed to come to life around them, as angry as the clouds above which had turned a dark black color, They weren't in Dunwall anymore.  They were in the Void.  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slowly building this up to the ending which is going to be a real whack in the face, the connections to DOTO will make sense at the end.


	28. Deeper, Still

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily and Oliver travel to Morley in search of Corvo and the truth, while Corvo, Marcus and Cecelia find out the one lead they had is gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first part of the chapter is split POV between Emily and Oliver, because of the confusing nature of his strange existence during these last few chapters, this will happen a couple more times. Furthermore, his nosebleed is a reference to Bioshock Infinite.
> 
> The line "It started in Morley, and it will end in Karnaca" is a sly little reference to my headcanon that the Outsider was born in Morley and lived there as a beggar in his human life. the reference to Theresa is to my fanfic The Lost One, in which I explore the Outsider's youth before he was kidnapped.

Emily looked around, all she could see was the endless darkness of the Void "How did you...?"  She touched his hand "I thought you felt... disconnected, that you couldn't go back the way you had been able to before?"  
  
Oliver looked drained and slumped forward on the skiff "I... I am, I feel like the Void is slipping away from me with each moment, but you, you carry the mark, a conduit of the Void's magic and energy... I wouldn't have been able to bring us here without you"   
  
"Are you going to be okay?"  Emily put her hand to her mouth "Oliver, you're bleeding"   
  
He lifted his hand to his nose and felt his fingers were wet with blood "I...Emily, I feel... something feels wrong"  Emily reacted in horror as the man in front of her started to shift in and out of her vision, blending with the surroundings, her mind was forced to remember the disturbing visions at Aramis Stilton's home due to Delilah and her magical misdeeds.  
  
"Oliver!" She grabbed onto his hand tightly   
  
"Something is happening Emily" He struggled to get the words out, "It feels like... I'm breathing for the first time, like air is just... pushing through my lungs, I feel like I'm drowning"  
  
 _But does he have to die? Years ago I did something horrible to you! I didn't deserve to live_  
  
Emily pulled her hand away from him as his skin was hot to the touch, she looked around the empty blackness "We have to get out of here, this place seems to be making it worse"   
  
He heard ringing in his ears and felt a thudding in his chest, like his heart was determined to jump right out of the cage of bones and flesh it had been trapped in  
  
trapped  
  
 _He lived and breathed once_  
  
Voices from before, voices from now were echoing around him, flitting through his ears like smoke. He tried to keep Emily in focus but his eyes kept shifting and then he saw his hand, shimmering, shaking, trembling in and out of existence.   
  
Your mind echoes with all the things that Daud wants you to do, but I'm here to tell you, you have a choice Billie Lurk"  
  
This time it was his own voice in his ears, desperate and scared. "Billie Lurk..." He said  
  
Emily turned to him "What?"   
  
"Billie Lurk..." He repeated "She's...I remember her"  
  
"Remember her... from watching me during the coup?"  Emily asked, Oliver was still shifting in and out of reality right in front of her eyes    
  
He shook his head "It hasn't happened, it has happened. It's going to happen."    
  
"What is going to happen?" Emily took him by the shoulders and tried to shake him, but most of all she wanted to hold onto him for fear he would slip away entirely   
  
"It is, it was, it will be the end, the beginning" He felt weak, his body was trembling "We must leave this place, but we will not be free from the Void, Emily." He struggled to speak, he had to warn her, but he had no idea what he was warning her about "Emily, I want you... to remember, no matter what is happening... This world won't be the same"  
  
He gasped, he felt like there was a lump in his throat as he saw....   
  
"No!" He screamed "No!" He felt like he was choking on the tears he was holding back "Emily" He said softly, putting his hand on hers "I am so sorry"  
  
"Oliver, what is going on, what are you talking about? You're scaring me"   
  
"Something is happening Emily, something will happen, and it will change everything...."   
  
"Whatever it is, we can get through it, I got through Delilah's coup, I'm ready for whatever this world throws at me" She took a deep breath "We have to get out of here, what was your plan here?"   
  
He swallowed hard and tried to regain his composure.  "Bringing us to the Void, it's... a shortcut in ways, I can make our trip shorter by taking us to Morley from... from here"  
  
"How?" Emily asked  
  
"Energy, think about Morley... envision Morley."  
  
 _Envisioned_   
  
He shook himself, pushing the thoughts away   
  
"The Void.... it has a mind of its own, but... I have had in the past, the ability to make, to show, to see what I wished or what I wished others to see." His breath was starting to level but he felt so weak, so numb.    
  
"Close your eyes," He said softly, She did and tried to think of Morley, images of her trips there in the past, the way the air smelled of fresh bread right out of the oven, her moments on the lake with Wyman  
  
She opened her eyes and saw a bright portal, not unlike the one she remembered seeing from before, during the coup when the Outsider had brought her here.  She tapped Oliver on the knee to get his attention, his eyes were still closed "We're here" She said, pulling herself out of the skiff that was precariously perched on the strange floating void rock.  She hoisted the unconscious Oswinna over her shoulder and stuck her hand out to Oliver to help him up.  She walked carefully along the rocks, endless cold and the acrid smell of smoke.  She shared one final look with Oliver before they went through the portal.  
  
* * * *  
"Damn it" Corvo muttered under his breath as he checked the corpse hanging from the ceiling "He's dead" He turned back to Cece and Marcus "It looks like someone got to him before we did, didn't want him to talk"  
  
Marcus frowned "It was only a matter of time before he was offed"  Cecelia looked at him with an expression of shock "That's a horrible thing to say!" Her pale face someone even paler in this moment  
  
"What do you expect Cece?" Marcus asked her "He was writing books on the Void, he was talking heresy and magic. I'm not saying he deserved it, but it was bound to happen"  
  
Cecelia turned away from him, her arms crossed and her face set in a hurt expression,  Corvo sighed "We don't have time to argue, the body is warm. Whoever got to him left this place recently. We should leave before someone comes back to clean up this mess" He stepped over a pool of Barnoli's blood on the floor  
  
"Don't you think we should at least look for some kind of information?" Marcus asked  
  
Corvo nodded "Of course, but we need to be quick about it.  Cecelia, Marcus, head upstairs and see if there's anything you can find, I'll stay down here and look through some of his notes."  
  
Marcus nodded and went with Cece to go search around upstairs, She went ahead of him and wouldn't look in his direction, when they got on the landing of the hallway upstairs he gently tapped her on the shoulder "What's wrong?"  
  
"Your nonchalance about Barnoli getting what was coming to him for studying the heretical," She said, still not looking his way, she headed towards the first room in the long hallway. It seemed like Barnoli was rich enough to afford an apartment with four bedrooms, but not rich enough to afford a bodyguard  
  
"What about it?" Marcus asked, following her and looking for a lamp. He found a candelabra instead when his food collided with it painfully and he felt himself lose balance, sliding face first into a dusty pile of old rags, Cecelia did not look around to check on him.  He pushed himself up with some difficulty as the overhead lamp went on.  He brushed his already dirty clothes off and regained his composure "Surely you don't feel bad for a virtual stranger?" he asked her  
  
She looked around, sifting through notes and pages of papers Barnoli had left sitting out on the table. He was very well organized it seemed, and he chronicled everything by date, notes for books never published, notes for ideas never panned out, going as far back as the time before the rat plague.  Marcus picked up a leatherbound book and opened it, blowing dust every which way. "This is interesting," He said aloud, though there was no purpose, Cecelia was angrily ignoring his every word.  
  
"Cecelia?" He said, putting the book down on a table that looked like it would collapse under the weight of it.  She was looking through the bookshelf at the far end of the room, letting her fingers travel across the spines of each book as if she were reading simply by touch, She didn't respond.   Marcus thought at first that maybe she hadn't heard him "Cece?" He said again, a little louder this time.   
  
Again, she ignored his words and pretended to be engrossed in a book he couldn't see the title of, he stepped closer to her and brushed his hand against her shoulder "Are you ignoring me?"  
  
"I am trying to," She said, not looking up from the book. Marcus looked over her shoulder to read the title "Potions: A-Z" He wondered exactly what Barnoli had been interested in beside research on the Void  
  
"Why are you...." He started but she surprised him by slamming the book shut and cutting him off  
  
"If you must know, it's because your attitude towards Barnoli, it shows complete disgust at people having a mere interest in The Void."  
  
"Why would that upset you?" He asked, she responded with a glare  
  
"Wait" realization dawned on him "Do you..."  
  
"After the rat plague, I became interested in studying the Void and it's magic, reading all sorts of novels on it, I had dreams of the Outsider before, though he never spoke to me.  I was down on my luck, homeless and desperate. So I studied magic through the Void, I wanted something to bring me happiness, any kind of happiness... I tried for coin but nothing worked, I tried for success but nothing worked.  And then I found a spell that would make me young again"  She replaced the potions book back to the shelf and sighed, sitting down on the chair close to the window  
  
"I was never one for vanity" She said sadly, looking at the floor "But I felt like I had lost something in those years during the rat plague. I was twenty-four years old, I hadn't even had a relationship yet, I was simply a maid at a bar run by traitors.  My life fell apart after the loyalist conspiracy was dissolved.  I never saw Corvo again, He was the only one at the Pub beside young Lady Emily who was ever nice to me, I felt too ashamed to let them see me the way I became"  
  
Marcus sat beside her, placing his hand over hers, she didn't move away "I just wanted to feel like I could get my life back, my youth, Fifteen years from the rat plague I was thirty-nine years old.  Pushing forty years old without a coin to my name, and as the years passed since Delilah's coup it just kept passing me by, I wasn't living"  She didn't look up from the dust-coated floor as she spoke, Marcus squeezed her hand in his  
  
"I found a spell in one of my books to change my life, to give me back those years I had lost, With one simple spell I was twenty-three again, young... fifteen years to do whatever I wish with"  She looked ashamed and shook her head "You must think the worst of me"   
  
"Cece..." Marcus said, he moved his hand from hers and placed it against her cheek "I could never think of you in any way but wonderfully"  Her eyes widened and she inhaled sharply as he leaned in to kiss her gently, she pulled away "I...don't know if this is the time for such things"  
  
"Cecelia, the world stops for us"  He let his hand trail away from her face and rested it upon his own leg "But of course, I would not wish to do such things if it is not what you wish"  
  
She grabbed his hand back forcefully, squeezing it "Of course this is what I want" She said, almost angry "But the world is a mess, I'm a mess. I'm a homeless girl who has only ever had jobs as a servant, is that really what you want in your life? You come from a royal family, to people like you, I am just scum"  
  
He shook his head "That couldn't be further from the truth, the moment I laid eyes on you back at the tower, I knew you were so much more than any of that, than any of the women I could have been forced to marry"  
  
"What about Emily?"  
  
"Emily is a wonderful person, and a great ruler, but I am not in love with her, and I refuse to be pushed into a false romance for the sake of politics" He brushed his fingers through her hair lightly, if the world truly did stop for them, he silently hoped it would never start again  
  
"What about the rumors?"  
  
He smiled at her, a kind and sad smile, he knew she was right about it all, the politics, the royal court here in Morley.  None would accept her, none would treat her as truly and just as she deserved to be treated, but he knew that he didn't care.  All the world fell away as they stayed lost together in that moment, he didn't even have to speak to answer her.  It was understood between them, it was more than an agreement, it was a promise.   
  
"No matter what happens here," He said "You and I will stay as we are, together"  
  
She smiled "The royal price and the lowly heretic, It sounds like a fairytale"  
  
* * * *  
  
"Here we are," Emily said "Though, exactly where I don't know..." She looked around at the empty street The two had left the docks they appeared on with their skiff, Oswinna still knocked unconscious, Emily had reservations about leaving her on the boat, but Oliver assured her that it would be fine as long as they tied the skiff to the docks tight enough.  
  
"It's really quiet around here"  Oliver stayed silent, he was having trouble focusing on what was going on, trouble focusing on Emily and what she was saying.   
  
"I've only been to Morley a couple of times but I thought their nightlife was a little more exuberant"  She mused as they walked down an empty cobbled street together.   
  
Flashes of memories hit Oliver like a spark, he remembered these streets, the buildings.   
  
_It's kill or be killed here, we're street filth, we're nothing_ a voice in his head, a young sounding female, he remembered her, what was her name?  
  
"Theresa," He said aloud, Emily shot him a glance  
  
"What?" She asked him "Who is Theresa?"  
  
"She is, she was... I knew her"  His head felt cramped, like he was remembering too many things at once, it shouldn't be possible to carry so many lives inside your mind.  He remembered once he and Billie sat on the rooftops in Karnaca, smoking cigars together and musing about their pasts, she agreed with him about memories, sometimes it was so hard.  
  
Wait, what? That never happened.  He shook himself  
  
"Are you alright?" Emily asked, she stopped walking and he shrugged "I'm fine, Emily," He said.  
  
She wasn't convinced, he had a hard time convincing Billie that he was alright too after she had rescued him from the Ritual Hold, there were nights when she would peak into his room to make sure he was still there.  And when they went on heists together she always had his back.  
  
"No!" He shouted "Stop it" he hit himself in the head, struggling against what was real and what was false.  Emily grabbed his hand to stop him from pounding against his skull  
  
"Oliver, what is happening?"  He heard her question, he just wasn't sure he could answer, he didn't understand what was going on any more than she did.

 _My old face, my new face, too._  
  
"I'm just... I'm having flashes of memories that aren't real, can't be real"  He pulled his arm away from her, he had done the same several weeks prior to Billie when she had been questioning him about something, she was always on his case, she had become sort of like a protector to him in the weeks and months that followed his rescue, she had decided that teaching him self-defense was also a good idea.  But he still retained some dirty street fighting tricks from his homeless days.   
  
When Emily and he were done in Morley, he would have a lot of self-defense lessons with Billie to catch up on, he wondered if she were angry with him for missing so many.  
  
His head started to throb, sharp and painful like a knife was being pushed through his skull "I'm fine, Emily" he said, taking a few deep breaths.  He was in Morley, he was with Emily, there was no Billie, no Theresa, his mind was just simply playing tricks on him, it was likely because he had been out of the Void so long.   
  
She didn't look convinced, but she dropped the subject  "We need to find out where my father is" She said "According to his notes he left, he was heading to question Barnoli Mulani, the author of those books on the Void, studies about whether or not the Void was a physical place one could step in and out of.  His main area of study was 'is the void real'"  She said, walking faster than Oliver, he struggled to keep up with her, she was in much better shape than he was.  He would definitely get yelled at by Billie for not keeping up with his exercises.  
  
 _No_ , he thought, _stop it._  
  
"I know of Barnoli," He said, trying a light run to keep up with her steps, "The man wrote four volumes on his studies, the Abbey of the Everyman absolutely hated him and everything he stood for, but they couldn't do anything about it.  He was protected."  
  
"Protected how?" Emily asked without looking at him, her gaze set straight ahead  
  
"He was paying off the Abbey to keep quiet on his studies, they took the money, but they felt really guilty for breaking their own strictures," He said, sarcasm heavily underlining his words, Emily laughed  
  
"It does sound like the Abbey to take payments on the sly from the local heretics." She shook her head "I used to like The Abbey, you know?" she said "I used to believe they were keeping the Isles safe from black magic, but it's all just a bunch of hagfish shit"  He looked shocked, He wasn't used to Emily swearing so openly, she would never speak like that around the advisors and other members of her royal court.   "They are just as greedy as any of the gangs they claim to be against, when I went to Karnaca, the things I saw..." She shook her head "It's no secret that the Abbey needs some kind of overhaul, but it's politically unwise to suggest anything of the sort to the public"  
  
"Emily, you are a smart and wise ruler, if you truly think the Abbey needs to be changed, it is your duty to make sure the public is informed and aware" She nodded "I know, I just need to figure out how to breach it.... but I don't know why I'm even thinking about all that, We need to find Father and figure out what is happening"  
  
"This all started in Morley," he said, looking to the sky "It will end in Karnaca"  
  
"Karnaca?" Emily asked, looking at the sky as well "What does Karnaca have to do with any of this?"  
  
He shook himself "I... don't know, I don't know why I said that"  Emily frowned  
  
"You're right though, it did all start with Morley, that letter I got... the disappearances here, the assassin sent to kill me, it's all focused here. We uncover whatever is going on and we stop it.  Before it gets weirder, worse..." She gave him a worried look "I don't know if whatever is happening has anything to do with what is going on with you" She gently brushed the back of her hand against Oliver's pale cheek as he stared up at the stars "But whatever this is, I hope we can stop it"  
Oliver nodded, he didn't know what to say.  He knew that no matter what they would do here in Morley tonight, it would change everything, they would all leave this place different than they came. 


	29. All Circles, No Words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily and Oliver make their way to Morley through the magic of the Void and search for the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's coming to an end! This is the second to last chapter, I know this is a bit short but the next (and last) one makes up for this, It's going to be one hell of a bang, and one hell of an ending. So strap in and get ready for a wild ride. And don't forget to look up my In All Prisms series which I will be writing as a sequel series.

Emily and Oliver were still walking along the cobbled streets of Morley, still searching for her father. They couldn't for the life of them find the street Barnoli's home should have been on. She furrowed her brow and stopped walking.

"I think we're going in circles," She said with a frown

"Impossible" Oliver said "I remember these streets, it's not a circle"

"You remember them? Emily asked, Oliver had been acting strange since they came here, though she recalled he's been acting rather odd through all of this. Maybe it had to do with whatever was going on here, the fact that he was somehow unable to return to the Void the way he had all those times before.

He put his hand to his head "I.. know... the building we're looking for" He started walking ahead of Emily, walking fast enough that she had to jog to catch up "Oliver!" She shouted through the dark street "Stop walking so fast!" He didn't listen, or he didn't hear her, she wasn't sure which one. But she finally caught up to him and grabbed his shoulder. He flinched away from her touch. She gave him a concerned look

"What is happening to you?" She took his hand slowly, it was doing what it had done before, flickering in and out of reality. She wondered if this had anything to do with Delilah... But that was impossible, wasn't it?

"I don't know," he said, not for the first time she heard a twinge of fear in his tone, He was afraid. But of what? Oliver stopped walking and pointed up ahead at a dilapidated looking apartment building, wedged in between several others. All looking quite abandoned. "it's Barnoli's place."

"Are you sure?" Emily asked, looking at the structure "It looks like nobody has lived here in years"

"I'm sure of it, let's go inside" Emily and him walked up to the building and Emily imdiently noticed broken glass beneath a shattered window "Someone broke in here," She remarked, Oliver carefully opened the door and the pair walked carefully into the old apartment.

"I think they broke the window to disarm this" Oliver said, nudging his head towards a trap dispenser "Someone didn't want visitors"

Emily almost screamed when she saw the body of what she presumed was Barnoli, blood was surrounding the chair he was sitting in and a look of pained shock was the last expression he had before being killed

"Who did this?" She gasped, looking away from the horrific scene

"It looks like the Abbey found him," Oliver said grimly

"You think the Abbey did this?"

"I think it's possible that the Abbey hired someone to do their dirty work for them, but Barnoli was always writing about the Void, and believed there was a way to get to the void from our world. He theorized, anyway. The Abbey must have gotten tired of their deal, thought his words were getting too dangerous and had him offed"

"That's despicable" She shook her head "I can't knowingly continue having good relations with the Abbey if these are the actions they commit against those who share differing opinions" She put her hands on her hips angrily, Her mother wouldn't have stood for this either, but then again, she thought... Her mother watched as Anton Sokolov turned Dunwall into a prison with his inventions, stood there as he laughed. Maybe she wouldn't have even noticed.

Emily had long held to the notion that her mother had been perfect in every way, a perfect mother, a perfect ruler. There was no wrong that could be done by her, but as she grew up she started to see that her mother was flawed, just as she is today. If her mother wasn't flawed, she would have never trusted that wretched old spymaster Hiram Burrows.

"If my father was here... where is he now?" She asked, looking around.

"I don't think there is a question about it, the window was broken and it looks as though someone has taken a peek through this man's stuff." Oliver said, he put his hand on Emily's shoulder "I think we should leave before whoever did this is sent back to clean it up"

She nodded "That's a smart idea, but... how are we going to find my father?" He and Emily walked out of the destroyed apartment and he turned back to look at it "Your father came here for a reason, this was clearly not his destination. If you can remember anything from his notes... maybe that could help"

"Are you okay?" Emily asked him suddenly, he turned his eyes to her and tilted his head in slight confusion "Excuse me?"

"You've been acting a little weird, do you recognize that house or something?" She asked, she cringed as she spoke, it was so informal. It wasn't as if she loved speaking formally, but the way she spoke on her time away from being an Empress would make her former Governess cringe. She looked at Oliver again, he had been staring at the house, his eyes locked on it as if he were afraid that it would disappear. He looked uncomfortable and shrugged his shoulders. Emily knew something was going on, something he wasn't mentioned, but he wouldn't relent.

The pair of them walked away from the run-down apartment, Emily was out of her element with this, she had no idea where her father could be, but she intended to find him before it was too late. They walked for a while before happening upon some old looking home that had likely been abandoned for a long time, Emily yawned. "We need to find a place to set up so we don't pass out", Oliver nodded in agreement. Once inside the home, Emily pulled out the notes she had taken from her father's office and read them over and over again, trying to find some hint as to where he would be going, what visiting Barnoli meant to him, and where he could have gone from there.

It had been over an hour and she still had no idea where Corvo could have gone, or if he was in any sort of danger, she knew that her father was a highly trained man capable of taking on many challenges even without the mark of the Outsider, but she was worried about him. Whatever was going on was dangerous, and they were all caught right in the middle of it.

Emily was reading over her father's notes again when Oliver lost his balance and fell hard onto the floor, She rushed over to him "Oliver?" She asked, He was struggling to breathe, gasping for air... He was shaking, Emily tried to calm him but she couldn't seem to get through to him. He was in some kind of trance or something... He was shaking back and forth, his eyes fluttering as though he were blinking fast. It lasted for minutes, and when it was over he grabbed her by the arm and gasped "I know where they are Emily...."

 


	30. An End That Must Be Faced

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily and Oliver find the place that they must go to, an end that must be faced is at hand, and the world may never recover.

  
Marcus and Cecelia stood back and gasped at the mausoleum Corvo had taken them to, It was absolutely stunning, though Marcus could tell it was old.  Vines crawled up the length of the structure and looked as though they could consume it whole, hiding it from the world forever.   
  
Corvo turned back to them "This is it" He said, "this is the place Jessamine and Anton went to all those years ago." He shook his head "I can't believe we found it"   
  
Cecelia perked up "It's lucky that we found those notes hidden away"   
  
Corvo raised an eyebrow "Yeah, I wouldn't call it luck, what with you two making out in the back room, you were bound to find something"  He chuckled,  Cecelia, turned pink in her cheeks and looked anywhere but at Corvo or Marcus.  Corvo approached the mausoleum and put his hands to his sides, Marcus looked up at the structure  
  
"How do we get in?"  
  
"Well," Corvo said, retrieving a folded letter from his vest pocket "These notes, I know I'm missing some but I think I've figured out a way to piece this information together.  I think there might be a lever somewhere to pull and it opens up the entrance to the crypt."  
  
"Does this go anywhere?" Cecelia asked, kneeling in the dirt and touching one of the stone steps with her index finger  
  
"The floor plan here tells that it goes underground, but I don't know how long it goes on. Seems to be a tunnel to some other place, maybe another crypt"  He held the letter upside down to study the floor plan for the building "Yep" He said, folding it up and putting it back "Looks like it connects to something off the paper.  It can't be that long if the other building is in this area"  
  
"It doesn't look like there's anything here for miles," Marcus said, looking around.  The area they had come to was rather secluded, covered with overgrown bushes and trees, the air was dense with a fog that made the whole image rather eerie.  He stepped forward "We should look for whatever opens this thing up"  
  
"Do we have a backup plan if we can't find it?" Cece asked  
  
"Climb in through a window," Corvo said jokingly and shrugged "I'll look around back and see what I can find"  He looked at Marcus "You and Cecelia stay up front and stay together, I don't want you splitting up and getting in trouble"  
  
Marcus nodded and the group went in search of some kind of lever or button to open up the crypt.   "It can't be that hard to find," Marcus said after some time, "I mean it's a crypt... a lever..... it has to be somewhere on this thing"  
  
Cecelia leaned against the stairs of the crypt to rest "Maybe it's not on this one, maybe it's... Corvo said some of these were connected, maybe the one it's connected to opens this one up"  
  
"That," Marcus said, sliding down the wall and falling into an uncomfortable sitting position "Sounds like a stupid but likely scenario in which we are all screwed"  
  
"We have to try," She said, he relented "We'll find it, but if we're going to, we have to start now"  
  
* * * *  
"What?" Emily asked Oliver  "What are you talking about?"  
  
"I can barely see through the Void anymore, but I can see them, they are close. It's an old mausoleum just north of here." He was still trying to steady his breathing  
  
"Are you sure?" She brushed his hair out of his eyes, she was worried about him.  
  
"Yes," He said breathlessly "We need to get there, now, I can't.... I can't see much but I know it's bad, they are in danger"  
  
Emily looked behind her towards the water and the docks they left their boat behind at, with Oswinna knocked unconscious, She frowned "We should go back and wake her" She said, Oliver grabbed her arm and yanked her forward "We don't have time" he said  
  
"But she's..." Emily started  
  
"Emily, your father is in danger. Oswinna is going to be fine.  We need to go, now" He said, she nodded in agreement and felt a lump in her throat and chest, constricting her breathing.  If what Oliver said was true, they needed to hurry to find Corvo and the others.  
  
* * * *  
Walking took so much out of her, she was exhausted from escaping Coldridge, from the trip out on the water, to the void, and now here... Walking endless cobbled streets, they found themselves in an older looking part of Morley and came upon a winding path that lead up to a gated area.  It looked like a large graveyard, bigger than any Emily had ever seen in her life.   
  
"I suppose if there's a mausoleum to be found, a graveyard would be the best bet," She said  
  
Oliver stopped walking "There, over there!" He said, pointing just up the hill. a large mausoleum loomed over them.  Emily looked to where his finger was pointing, it was immense in size, she could only imagine what it looked like on the inside.   They trudged up the hill as quickly as they could with Oliver's injury and Emily's exhaustion.  There were several times she felt herself slipping but pulled back up, fighting the exhaustion, fighting nature itself, there was a worry deep in her core about her father.  
  
Was he okay? She found herself thinking, she tried to shake away the thoughts of horrible things happening to her father, but she couldn't.  She watched her mother die as a child, and Corvo had been everything to her, he had raised her the best way he knew how, and he was the best father an Empress could have ever asked for, risking his life time and time again for her safety... She couldn't bear to think anything bad had befallen him.  
  
They were at the top of the hill now, Emily felt her knees give out and she collapsed in the grass, it was strangely wet though the sky was clear of any sign of rain or a storm of any kind.  Maybe it was just dew brought on by the night's cooler air sweeping through.  She groaned as she pushed herself back to her feet without Oliver's help, as he had gone on ahead of her to look at the mausoleum entrance, It was already open "They are here" He said  
  
Emily gave him a worried look "Are you sure you can make it inside there?" She asked him "Your ankle is really hurt and I don't.."  
  
"I'll be fine Emily, lets just keep going" He assured her, and keep going they did, they pushed through and walked through the underground of the mausoleum, it seemed to be constructed in such a way that it led to another place, connected by underground tunnels dug up years previously, there was no telling how old this place really was.  But Emily and Oliver found themselves constantly walking through overwhelming amounts of cobwebs and vines that had crept up around the walls, forcibly reminding Emily of her visit to the old Brigmore Manor.  
  
The winding paths never seemed to end, the two were caked with dirt, stained with the green from vines they had to cut down with Emily's sword and blood from scraps, cuts, and abrasions, having slipped and fallen more than once.    Oliver's spells of confusion continued throughout the journey, he mumbled things Emily couldn't hear, names Emily didn't know and names she did.  But when questioned about it, he would stay silent.  
  
She hoped that what they would find at the heart of this strange place would be the answers that she desperately needed, why was Oliver acting this way? Why was the Void rejecting his return? Why was someone sent to kill her at Dunwall tower?  It all came down to this, she could almost feel an ending.   
  
She lost her footing again and slipped on one of the thick vine roots that were growing underneath the cobbled rock that made up the path in the underground tunnels, At least it was better than trudging through the sewers, she hoped Oswinna was alright back by the boat, she hated leaving the woman but Oliver was insistent that they head in right away.  
  
What did he see? Emily thought as she looked at him, it was a strange sight to see the man beside her flickering, it was like he was there, but not there at the very same time, She tried to ignore it but it appeared to be getting worse the further in they went, she was ready to give up completely on their journey when finally, they reached an end to the ever winding path and a door that seemed to lead to a larger, circular room.  
  
Emily and Oliver looked up and around the room, it was gigantic "Oh my god" Emily said, her eyes wide "What is this place?"  
  
"It looks like.. really old ruins of some kind" He answered  
  
"Who was buried here?" She breathed, she was taken completely aback by the sheer size of this place that she missed something entirely, her father, Corvo. He was on the other side of the room with two others beside him.   
  
"Corvo!" She yelled across the expanse, he turned his head around to see and she could tell his face lit up, she grabbed Oliver's hand and they ran across the distance to the others  
  
"Emily!" He said, opening his arms as she rushed to him and embraced the man, he smelled of dirt and blood and she didn't care because she knew she smelled of worse "How did you get here?"  
  
"It's been a long strange trip," She said as they pulled away from the hug "You look like a mess Father"  
  
"I've had better days," he said  
  
Emily looked to the others, Marcus and Cecelia "I can't believe you two are here" She said gratefully  
  
"We're so sorry we abandoned you," Cecelia said  
  
"No, you were right to leave, there were dangers more pressing than saving me and Oliver from Coldridge.  We managed to get out with help" She said, another pang of guilt for leaving Oswinna behind, Oliver crouched down to get a better look at the ornate looking design that was etched into some of the rocks  
  
"What is this place?" he asked and looking up at Corvo  
  
"We think it was used as a ritual grounds, a long time before it became what it is today." He said "These runes, etchings, they predate anything I've ever seen in my life, and they don't look like they are of the Void either"  
  
Oliver shook his head "No, they look... different" he stood up "Why are you here?" He asked Corvo, but Marcus answered instead  
  
"This is the place that it all started," he said simply, "The Lord Protector told me and Cecelia that the former Empress Jessamine and her associate Anton Sokolov had come here once, long ago, and that something they did... it caused a rift of some sort"  
  
"It made things here unstable," Corvo said "The Void leaks through here, but it isn't of the Void, this is a place of power. Horrible things happened here."  
  
"The Envisioned," Oliver said, looking around "They... were here..."  
  
"What?" Emily asked, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder "What... what are you talking about? Who are the Envisioned?"  
  
"It's a.... it's a cult, old.. very old they... They were here, they used to do tests here"  He looked distracted and uneasy, Emily started to feel worried this was another one of his episodes, Corvo moved around to put his hand against one of the old walls "We've been studying this area, it's so strange... Jessamine had notes on it but the notes.. they don't do this place justice"  
  
"What is it?" Emily asked, "What does any of this have to do with the things that have been happening?"  
  
Corvo shook his head "All I know is that somehow a rift had been left behind, Jess and Anton were trying to figure out if traveling to the Void was possible from the physical world, their journey led them here... and what they did left something behind ... something, a tear... of some kind, only growing stronger with Delilah's interference at Stilton Manor. She tore down the fabric of realities, places like this became affected."  
  
"Delilah?" Emily asked, "Was Delilah ever here?"  
  
"She didn't need to be" Corvo continued "She tore through reality that night at Stilton's, she broke what was supposed to be and created something that was not. There's a lot left over from that"  
  
"So the Void is leaking here like it was at Stilton's?" Emily looked to Oliver for confirmation, he nodded "It's different though" He said "It's not as ... strong here, what your mother and Anton did, it didn't open the doors as much as what Delilah did at the manor.  But it did affect things, slower... Different, but it was still there."  
  
He looked around at the surrounding rocks, they were untouched and unmarked, he picked one up "Strange that this place would have such significance to the Envisioned, it stood long before they even existed"  
  
"Who are the Envisioned?" Cece asked, "Did they have something to do with what Jessamine and Anton were here for?"  
  
"No," Oliver said, shaking his head "They were here long before, four thousand years ago"  
  
those words rang in Emily's head, she recalled something from Delilah's coup, something she was told by Oliver in the Void, four thousand years ago, this is where I died, and where I was born again.  She was about to ask him about it, but a strange and loud whirring drowned out her thoughts  
  
"What is that?!" Cecelia shouted over the noise  
  
"I don't know," Corvo said, drawing his sword "But it's not good, stand back!"  He shouted.  
  
Emily was too late, something shot itself out of the ground, out of the rocks and crumbled dirt of the mausoleum, she flew backward and landed painfully on her back, her sword knocked out of her hand  
  
"Emily!" Oliver shouted, the monster that had broken through had separated each one of them, below the old smell of dirt and a tunnel that went for miles, above them a monster Emily had never in her life imagined she would see, it looked like one of those monsters out of the old sea legends she read when she was a child.  She pushed herself to her feet and ran at her sword, but she was pushed aside by a strong tendril belonging to the hulking thing.  
  
"Ugh" She said as she felt the wind being knocked out of her, she tried again to run for her sword but the monster had its creepy eyes on her, she heard her father's voice from across the way, though she could not see him as he was behind the monster and blocked from her view "Emily! are you alright?"  
  
"Yes, father!" She shouted back "I'm fine, I'm just... trying to lose its attention, I need my sword"  
  
"I can distract it" Marcus yelled, Emily couldn't see Marcus, or Cecelia, or her father, all she could see was the giant beast in front of her, and Oliver to the side of her who was holding onto his head as he collapsed to his knees.  "Oliver!?" She shouted  
  
What happened next was unbearably slow, as if the world had stopped time itself, She watched Oliver grab at his head as the unbearable pain of whatever was happening to him seemed to reach a peak, he flickered there in and out of the world as Emily struggled to dodge the beasts tendrils, She heard Marcus exclaim as he was pushed into an opposite wall, she heard Cecelia's scream of concern as she rushed to him.  
  
They were all too distracted to expect it, they were all too focused on something else, another wounded soldier in a battle they would never win, Emily's sword lay long forgotten as she fights her way to Oliver, she crouches down beside him and puts her hand against his, trying to get him to come back to her, she holds on to his jacket as if she is afraid he'll disappear completely if she lets go.  
  
The monster writhed around, screams, shouts, and before Emily could even react, it happened.  She could see Corvo now from this perspective, and she watched as he dropped to his knees in agony.... The light fading from his eyes, realization dawned on Emily too late and she pushed herself back up, running to her father as the beast fell with an earth-shattering sound.  Corvo's sword clanking against the stone as it fell away from the wound it inflicted on the monster.  
  
"Father!" She screamed "Father!" She lost her balance in the last couple of moments and slipped, skinning her knee and scrambling back up to her father's side, she put her hand on his arm and he fell into her  
  
"Emily, Love..." He said weakly, losing his balance and resting his head in her arms "You need to get out of here"  
  
"No!" Emily said "I'm not leaving, not without you"  
  
"Emily," He said, his voice so weak, so fragile.  She had never seen her father so weak before, she might never see him again.   
  
For the first time she felt it, she felt what Oliver had been feeling, those words were spoken once before by a woman that was not her, about a man not Corvo,  She shook away the feeling and focused on the moment.   
  
"No," She said "No I won't.. I won't do this, father... Please don't do this"  
  
He was laying there, as helpless as she'd ever seen him "Father we can get you out of here, we can get medicine... Elixers, we'll get you to an infirmary"  He shook his head, unable to speak anymore as he gagged on his own blood.  He was choking on it, Emily realized  
  
He choked, the horrible sound of him gagging was the only thing in Emily's ears, it was echoing all around her and her heart stopped in her chest, time seemed to stop, she was stuck here in this moment and her body felt numb, her mind felt numb.  Was this how Corvo felt when he held her mother in his arms as she died?  
  
"Father, father please, father please don't do this, father...." She whispered, pulling him closer to her  "I know it hurts, I know" She said, she didn't know who she was trying to console, him or her... "Please, please no.. Please.. please" She pleaded, she sounded like a little girl again, lost, alone and needing her father..  
  
And then the sound stopped, the light went out of his eyes and his body went limp, she choked on the silence and pushed him away, inspecting his eyes, his pulse, his face "Father?" She said, her voice shaking, she felt like she was going to throw up, to choke on her own heartbeat "Father?!" She said louder, she got the attention of the others, Oliver who seemed to come out of his episode, Marcus and Cecelia, who were both wounded had come over to crowd around her  
  
"FATHER!" This time she screamed and it shattered the silence around them, a howl of pain escaped her as she pulled her father close to her, crying into his shoulder "Don't do this, don't do this, don't do this"... She whispered "It's going to be okay, it's going to be okay, it's going to be okay"  
  
"I love you father, I love you father, I love you father" She whispered until she choked, she tasted bile in her throat, and her breathing was in uneven sobs.  She was lost in that moment until she felt a hand on her shoulder, it was Oliver.   
  
"Emily..." he said softly, too soft, too sympathetic, she didn't lose anyone, her father wasn't dead, he wasn't, he couldn't be. She whispered to him again "Don't do this Corvo, don't do this to me, Corvo, please Corvo..." She sounded again, like that little girl all those years ago scared of the rat plague giving her bad dreams, she screamed again.  This was worse than any plague.  
  
"Emily we need to get out of here," He said again, "This place is falling apart around us, we need to go"  
  
"No!" Emily said, "I won't go, I won't. He's fine, he's fine. He needs someone to help him get out of here! I can't leave him" she held the body of her father, he was just unconscious, he was fine, she kept him close and pressed her head against his forehead "Father?" She said softly "Father...."  
  
The others just stared in silence as she held Corvo, a dead beast behind them and the sound of rocks tumbling down, Emily heard her own heartbeat, deafening, and then she realized she couldn't feel her father anymore.  But she couldn't let him go, she couldn't let him go even when Marcus and Oliver pulled her away "I'm sorry Emily" Marcus said into her ear "We need to get out of here, now"  Emily did not let go of her father, she hoisted him over her shoulder, she turned back "Somebody has to get his sword" She said, emotionless.  Cecelia looked at Oliver, he nodded and rushed back to the rubble where Corvo's sword had fallen.   
  
He rejoined the group and through the rocks, they went, back through the spiraling tunnel, there were so many places blocked off to them now but a smaller room remained, with what looked like a portal inside of it.  It stood there as tall as a large doorway, shining bright and white with a hint of blue, They stopped to take it in for a moment, but when the rocks came down in larger chunks over their heads, Cecelia spoke "We need to get out of here" She said "It's coming down around us!"  
  
"We have no idea where that portal could end up!" Marcus said  
  
"Just go!" Cecelia shouted over the sound of rocks hitting other rocks, the foursome exchanged looks with each other before stepping through the strange portal and hopefully to safety.  
  
  



	31. EPILOGUE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end for many stories, and the beginning of many more.

_He woke with a gasp, no longer was he in Morley surrounded by the walls of the mausoleum, no longer was he beside Emily.  He was deep in the center of the Void.  He blinked, he couldn't see anything.   His eyes felt like weights with each movement and there was a thick feeling in his throat that he couldn't quite cough away.  It tasted like blood.  He felt the world spinning around him and he fell, only to be caught by someone, He looked up and saw her._

_Billie Lurk, Daud's former second in command and the captain of the Dreadful Wale. She saved him._

_"I can taste blood in my mouth" He said softly "I can hear Daud's voice... in my ear." He looked up at her "You have done something impossible"_  
 _She nodded "We let you live, I can take you out of here" She looked around the ritual hold, vast, black and empty.  He swayed on his feet and placed a hand over his eyes "These eyes were closed for centuries... And I saw.. everything, bound here I walked through the minds of generations and ... now..."_  
  
_Billie came a little closer to him and placed a hand on his shoulder comfortingly, a surprising action, one that the Outsider did not expect "You're free" She said._  
  
_He felt a release as though a weight had been lifted from him, the whole world was resting on his broken mind and now he was free, he was alive._


End file.
